HUSKIES, ORCAS & NORTHERN LIGHTS

Kitted up in your warmest clothes, you’ll be flown to Kiruna, located inside the Arctic Circle, and then taken to the village of Poikkijarvi, where you’ll begin your 3-day aurora adventure. Using the cosy Fjellborg Arctic Lodge as your base, you’ll spend your days going on private trips across the pristine Lapland landscape, exploring frozen forests on snowshoes, trying your hand at ice fishing and nuzzling up in the warm furs as you are mushed across plains by huskie-driven dog sleds.

When you return to your log cabin in evenings, defrost by the fire with a glass of wine in hand or shake off the cold in the traditional wood-heated sauna. If the weather is clear, make sure to keep an eye on the night’s sky for the ethereal Northern Lights.

The first of its kind in the world, the aptly named ICEHOTEL is your next stop. Made from sculpted blocks of ice taken from the nearby Torne River, the hotel is a destination in itself. Even the beds are icy blocks, though they are draped in reindeer hides and thermal sleeping bags to keep you warm. Budding artists should grab a chisel and take part in the ice-sculpting class, or to sate the inner adventurer, make like Bear Grylls and set off on the winter wilderness survival course, learning how to make fire with flint and navigate using signs in nature, as well as learning other vital survival skills.

You’ll have another chance to ride on a dog sled or why not switch it up by driving your own reindeer sled, followed by a traditional Sami lunch in a Sami tent? Ride an Icelandic horse into the moose-grazing lands in search of the ‘king of the Lappish forest’ or warm up with a sauna session before heading into the surrounding wilderness on a Northern Lights photography course.

From Kiruna, you’ll board a train and travel along the scenic Ofoten rail line, slipping between snowy peaks and loch-studded plateaus as you cross the Swedish border into Norway. Situated in the centre of the Narvik, the Scandic Narvik is set in one Northern Norway’s tallest buildings, giving you panoramic views of the surrounding landscape, best experienced from the 16^th-floor sky bar.

With the Northern Lights in winter and the Midnight Sun in summer lighting up the sky, you’ll have a long day ahead. Spend it pursuing outdoor activities, such as skiing, wreck diving, sea fishing and whale watching, or explore the historic and industrial port and visit the War Memorial Museum, for its military artefacts and sepia photographs of World War II.

An Arctic feeding frenzy like no other, every year hundreds of killer whales and humpback whales line the Norwegian coast to feast on migrating herring. Having been taken to Hamn I Senja, you’ll spend three nights on the northern fjord, departing on orca safaris and donning a dry suit to dive into the cold waters with these incredible creatures. Employing hunting strategies such as herding and smacking the water’s surface to form bait balls, the orcas and whales pillage the shoal of herring from all directions. Board a boat and go experience an incredible afternoon as you watch these underwater giants glide through and breach the Arctic waters.