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Jeris encapsulates the Lapland dream: a cosy Scandinavian style hotel, log fires, a beautiful lakeside setting, spa facilities, deep snow and a fantastic range of activities. It's the best place we know for combining comfort and adventure.

Jeris enjoys an enviable position on the shore of Lake Jerisjarvi and on the very edge of the Pallas-Ounas National Park. It's jaw-droppingly beautiful out there. The only problem is that you have to leave that log fire to experience the great outdoors. It's a tough call folks!

N.B Parts of this holiday are very physically demanding. You will need to have a good level of fitness and some previous experience of cross country skiing.

Day 1: Arrivals, transfers and welcome
You will be met at Kittila Airport and transferred to Hotel Jeris. After you have settled into your accommodation you can enjoy a delicious evening meal in the hotel restaurant.

Day 2: Training day (10km)
After breakfast you will meet with your guide for the week, who will issue you with your cold weather clothing for the duration of your stay. You will also be fitted with your cross country skis (if you are hiring them from Jeris). Your guide will take you through the agenda and all the information you will need for the days ahead.

Once this is complete and any questions have been answered, you will head out on your first skiing tour onto the frozen lake. This is your first opportunity to fully appreciate the peace and tranquility of your new surroundings. You will return for lunch in the hotel and can relax in the spa in the afternoon. There is even an ice hole in the lake for those feeling especially brave!

Day 3 – Lake landscapes (15km)
This morning you will head out on your first full day along the track towards Särkijärvi Lake. The track is very well maintained and you will travel across vast frozen lakes. You can breathe in the pure clean air, listen to the complete silence and admire the endless forest landscape. You will enjoy lunch around a campfire before returning to the hotel for a well earned relaxing sauna, evening meal and good nights' sleep.

Day 4 – Meet the reindeer (15km)
Today you will ski to Torassieppi Reindeer Farm. When at the farm you will see a slideshow about reindeer herding, learn more about the life of these creatures and their herders and also meet the animals themselves. Lunch will be served in the kota before you set off back on the trail to Jeris. You will cover about 15km today before returning to Hotel Jeris.

Day 5 – Pallas Yllas National Park (15km)
After breakfast you will transfer by minibus to the Pallas – Ylläs National Park. You will visit an exhibition and learn about the history of the park before you start to ski back towards Jeris. The scenery is absolutely stunning and the views are definitely worth the effort! The track is slightly easier today as it is mainly downhill. A nice easy day in preparation for tomorrow!

Day 6 – Sarkitunturi (30km)
Today is the most demanding, but also the most rewarding day. The track crosses first frozen lakes, then winds through snow covered forests before finally you come to the foot of Särkitunturi fell. The climb is only 500m, but as Finland is reasonably flat the views are staggering even from this height. The National Park you visited yesterday can be seen along with endless miles of pristine wilderness stretching out in every direction. You will cover about 30km before returning to the hotel for a very welcome sauna and farewell meal.

Day 7 – Depart or extend your stay
It is time to leave Jeris. You can either fly home or alternatively we can arrange for you to extend your stay at Jeris or spend a night at Lainio Snow Village.

Tourism in Finnish Lapland has become the main income source of employment and income replacing traditional industries such as forestry. Development from a period of extractive industry to an industrial society has come about quickly. In 1950 the largest part of Lapland's inhabitants lived in rural areas and more than half the workforce worked in forestry and agriculture. Today 65 % of the workforce is in the service industry, 22% in processing and 10 % in primary production.

The area surrounding Jeris is no exception. Jeris is situated in a remote and genuine wilderness and so the impact of tourism here can be economically beneficial but must also be closely managed.

The growth in tourism and service provision in the area has been developed in conjunction with a long-term sustainable tourism plan with one of the primary objectives being to maintain nature in its natural state while guaranteeing the traditional way of life. Much of this has been achieved along with membership of EU development programmes, aimed at diversifying sources of livelihood, effective usage of resources and to increase export.

Approximately a quarter of Lapland's 100 000 strong workforce was unemployed in 1997. Promoting entrepreneurship, ongoing re-education of the workforce and development of the educational system to suit the needs of enterprises is continuing. The target is to diversify the sources of livelihood, increase the value of refinement production and develop new enterprises particularly in the area of tourism. National measures as well as EU-programme measures support this objective.

We embrace this philosophy, employing local activity providers and using only locally owned hotels. In this manner we help to maintain jobs in an area where unemployment was, until recently, very high. Additionally, the use of local suppliers ensures that the tourism spend filters through to local economies via the tourism multiplier effect.

Jeris and its sister company Harriniva are family owned establishments and have the local area at their centre. They are both remotely situated and provide vital sources of employment for local people thus helping ensure that the benefits of the tourism are felt locally. This also helps to stem the flow of young people moving to more urban areas in order to find employment which in turn helps to preserve local cultures and traditions.

Jeris has a strict responsible tourism policy principally focused on employing local people and using local suppliers as well as protecting the environment in which they operate. A great deal of thought is put into the planning of activity routes to ensure that they are able to be managed and sustained without causing any lasting impact on the environment.

We have included traditional and cultural experiences at Jeris to enable guests to get a sense of the area and the way of life which accompanies it. The Lapland Manor for example has been owned by the same family for hundreds of years and its principal source of income and the main way in which the family can now sustain its existence if through tourism. We are very proud to be able to help achieve this whilst at the same time allowing our guests the opportunity to experience Sámi culture and a different way of life. We always encourage local interaction and so provide guests with a list of useful words and phrases to help them during their stay and encourage them to try and learn some local words and put them to good use.