Sleeping in a Teepee in the Arctic Circle - Would you sleep in a tent in the snow?
Most Unique Place to Stay in Norway - Sami Lavvu (Norweigian teepee tent)
Most Unique Place to Stay in Norway - Sami Lavvu!
When we were planning our 5-day trip to Norway, our travel agency recommended spending a night in a Sami Lavvu (a Norwegian teepee). My first thought was NO WAY. I had my reasons: It's camping; No bathrooms; It's going to be 20 degrees outside and what are we going to eat? Josh saw it as a good opportunity to do something different. I went camping at a beach with friends once and slept on a hammer (I thought it was a rock), which we had lost when we were building it. I vowed never again to go camping.
After talking with our travel agency Off the Map Travel, Katie highly recommended the lavvu, assuring me the tent would be warm and there were bathrooms. I begrudgingly said yes somehow and had high anxiety when thinking about it.
Arriving at the Teepee in Norway
When we arrived at the Aurora Alps from Tromsø, we were supposed to stay in a cabin the first night, so I had one last night to get used to the idea I would be sleeping in a teepee, in the snow. However, upon arrival, they told us our Itinerary had changed and we were spending that night in the teepee. O.M.G. She made it sound like it was no big deal and that it would be easier for us. I was anxious and nervous inside.
We grabbed our bags and walked towards the Sami Lavvu which was about 50 feet from the house. I looked up a lit path and saw charming white lights strung in front of the most beautiful teepee I had ever seen. HOW ENCHANTING! I then forgot all my fears as we entered the candlelit lavvu, and I loved everything about it, feeling like I was in some sort of fairy tale.
Inside the Lavvu (teepee)
Inside the Sami Lavvu tent
There was a giant picnic table with food, a bar with hot drinks ready to go, a warm stove with lots of firewood, a comfortable living room setup, and a separate area with sleeping bags. Along with the candles, there were some lights strung along the top of the lavvu giving off plenty of light. I was mesmerized and felt like I was in another world. This was my kind of camping.
Ann Kristin was our host and she brought a hot dinner of reindeer stroganoff along with a special dessert. The bathrooms were connected to the house, complete with shower and wifi. Everything was okay and I was complacent. Josh and I sat and watched the fire for a bit, taking it all in for a bit.
Fireplace inside the tent
Looking for the Northern Lights
In front of our cozy lavuu, were 2 sets of snow shoes. They were cute and I took a picture, but didn't know how to use them. Ann Kristin had advised the Northern Lights would be out that night and we should use the snowshoes to get to the clearing not far from the teepee. We gathered all of our camera gear and Josh helped me get my snow shoes on and off we went. We found the clearing but the sky was cloudy and there was a light rain. We decided to wait a bit and see if the weather would clear up.
Snow shoes
After about 15 minutes, we started to see stars, and the clouds started to dissipate. We thought we were looking for green flashes or some kind of light in the sky but didn't see anything like that. Josh decided to take pictures of the stars while we waited for the aurora borealis to show. After a few pictures, he yelled, "THAT'S IT!" There it was, on his camera screen, green Northern lights! We realized they looked more like glowing clouds to the naked eye! "What about that?! Or that?!" We shot at everything in the sky, taking tons of shots and getting something a little different every time.
Glimpse of the Northern Lights in Norway
After close to 30 minutes, it started to get cloudy again, and we were getting cold. It was time to head back and load pictures to our phones so we could post them on social media with the bathroom wifi.
We slept in a teepee in the snow and found the Northern Lights on our own. I can now change my life status to "Adventurous."
See related post for more Norway and Northern Lights photos: 5-Day Itinerary in Tromsø, Norway
Please note this is not a sponsored post and based on my own personal experience, all thoughts are my own.
If you liked this post please share it on your favorite social media site using the Share button below because we’d love to get the word out! Feel free to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board: