3 weeks working as a guide helped me to get acquainted with the famous Finnish Lapland places. One of the places that I would like to introduce is Ounaskievari - reindeer farm that it located 15 minutes form Levi and 170 km from Rovaniemi. Unfortunately, this website doesn't have Levi in its base so I have put Rovaniemi as the most closest city. My own advice is of course to visit this place only if you are in Levi. There are hundreds of reindeer farms in Lapland and the one I introduce is no better than the others. In this post I would like to tell about reindeer farming on the example of Ounaskievari. A notice by is that reindeer farm can be visited only during winter times because during the whole summer reindeers are free to walk in the forests.
To start with, there are around 200.000 reindeers in total in Finnish Lapland and at most 200 farms. An interesting fact is that all the reindeers in Finland belong to someone, they are all marked in the special way. On the other hand, they all are half or full-wild with only one exception. This exception appeared not so long ago in one of the farms when one lady decided to make her reindeer a domestic pet. Now this reindeer lives in the house and eats with the other members of the family. I am personally not sure that this is a good idea for the animal since reindeers by their nature are used to severe cold weather conditions and feel uncomfortable being in the house in warmth. It is said that reindeers feel okey even when the weather is -50 C outside. They have unique fur which makes them feel warm. Fur is very thick and each hair is pole inside so reindeers have thousands of air pockets on their skin. Most of the farms receive profit from selling the reindeer meat (the wholeselling price is 10 euros per kilo), however, some farms provide safaries and receive money that way.
Bringing back the topic of the farm itself, there are some interesting facts about it:
- This farm is a family business as many other farms in Lapland. Currently people of 4th and 5th generations are working there.
- The name Ounaskievari comes from the name of the river Ounas that flows straight behind the main building and "kievari" which means bed and breakfast in Finnish
- It is very unlikely you will be got in without advance booking. Groups are coming every hour from 9 am till 5 pm. Individual tours still need to be confirmed in advance.
- The woman (Johanna) is the main reindeer owner in the farm, there are also cousins, her mother and daughter are helping her
- The family belongs to Saami people, traditional people who lived here for many years
- Previously the house of Ounaskievari was the place where the main road ended. People were coming by buses and cars from the South, overnighted and the next morning continued their ways to the North with the reindeers or snowmobiles. You can still overnight in this house but this is quite rare.
- The farm has around 200 reindeers in total but you can see only part of it: 30 riding male reindeers and some female and young reindeers. The others are still in the forests, they will be gathered when the tourist season ends in February.
When you come to the farm, you usually go on a safari first so that you can warm up in the house later. Safari takes usually 15-20 minutes but you can agree individually with the owner about the duration. Reindeers are linked to each other and the guests are siting on the sledges. There is usually one adult or one adult and one child per sledge. Owners know how to sit people in the right way so that reindeer behave properly. Small children are usually put on the front sledges. Of course, since the reindeers are half-wild it is good to avoid hands shaking and loud voices. It is also not advisable to touch reindeers head and antlers since they feel very uncomfortable and might shake their antlers causing some injuries. The ride is usually very calm and you manage to enjoy the views on the winter forest. After you arrive back, we go to feed the reindeers with dry hay. It is interesting that riding reindeers are only males because females are pregnant during winter time of the year. Usually female reindeers are more used to people, they are not afraid of anything and like making poses for the better photos.
You can take as many photos as you want :)
After we feed the animals, we go to warm up in the house where we can taste some home-made pastry and warm drinks like coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The house is decirated with reindeer skin, antlers and some traditional Lappi decorations. While guests are warming, we have a nice lecture about reindeers, living in the farm, competitions and some answers on the questions. We can also see the clothes made of reindeer skin, boots, mittens and jackets.
There are some basic facts you find out from the presentation:
-All the reindeers are loosing their antlers every year. Females loose when their new babies are born but males loose them earlier after they attracted enough female reindeers
-Male reindeers can be so busy making new babies with various female that it might die from hunger
-Antlers are soft and sensitive while growing and there is a lot of blood flowing. However, in July blood stops flowing into the antlers and they harden with the traditional brown colour. Wild reindeers should scratch the fur away
Outside the house there are traditional winter activities: Finnish sledges, snowman and etc.
Driving licenses
This is a must-see place when you are in Levi!
