What is it like at a Sami camp?
Are you wondering what it is like to visit a Sami camp? While you might have some thoughts around a sami camp I believe you will be quite amazed when visiting one. In addition to the traditional elements of the culture, the Sami people have their ways of interpreting nature, making use of resources and more.
Getting to the Sami Camp
Imagine driving out of town on a road by a fjord to later enter a valley with forests and spectacular mountains. Only 45 minutes later, you arrive at a place that catches your attention by a small wooden house, 3 white tents, a couple small wooden buildings and at the bottom an immense fence that leads to the mountains on the sides and towards a big fjord and more spiky mountains at the bottom. You are now in Breivikeidet and can even see the majestic Lyngen Alps which are not that far away from here.
Facilities at the Sami camp:
Gamme
At our camp you will find several locations and elements representing the Sami people. One of these places is the wooden gamme, where we will host our guests for a warm meal. It is a modern gamme, inspired by the traditional Sami "summer houses" called Goahti. This gamme is also used for the part of the tour in which our Sami Guide will explain about their culture and even show them some tools, clothes and artifacts tied to their culture.
Smaller houses
Our tiny house, equipped with a good, nice kitchen where we warm up our meals and prepare your hot drinks. Our staff has some of their equipment there too and only them can use this building. Next to it, a smaller wooden building where you as a guest will be welcome to enter so that you can get ready for the cold temperatures with our warm suits and winter boots. There is an area to leave your storage too if you are staying overnight.
Toilets and a souvenir shop
As you step outside of either this last building or the house, you will see this small (also wooden) houses with a cute door. Those are the toilets, outside toilets to be more specific!
Next to them is our souvenir store where at the end of the tour you can purchase some traditional Sami Handicrafts and authentic arctic stuff that is only found in the region.
Now we follow the road towards the fence. Before arriving, on both sides, there are benches and bonfires (2) and you see those 3 tents you glanced at before. They have a small chimney and they do not seem very big, but each of those can host up to 4 people! In there, you use wood to keep yourself warm through the night while sleeping on soft reindeer skins.
The reindeers
Finally, the fence, if you are here right in time, you will see that suddenly it is packed with reindeers on the other side. They know you are coming with food and are very excited to munch from your buckets! This fence is kilometers long and wide so that the reindeers can roam freely, so there is some forest lying further in and even a small river. We have set a small bonfire and some wooden benches in that forest so that you can enjoy the reindeers, nature and the Lyngen alps views comfortably.
Learn more about the Sami people
If you come to visit our Sámi camp you will also have the opportunity to learn about Sámi traditions and participate in cultural activities such as reindeer sledding!
If you are interested in more about Sami culture. Read our article Experience the Sami culture
Get the full experience of our Sami Camp
Now if you truly want to experience what it is like to be in a sami camp we would recommend spending the night in one of our tents. Out in the cold fresh air the sky is clear and the chance of seeing the northern lights is not small.
