Arctic Wilderness Evening: Husky, Dinner & Aurora Borealis

About This Experience

Read the title carefully: this evening is a husky kennel visit with dinner, and it does not include any dog sledding. The listing says so in its exclusions. You are picked up in Alta city centre and driven to Gargia Lodge, a historic mountain lodge at the edge of the Finnmarksvidda plateau, where a guide introduces you to the kennel’s 40-plus huskies and explains how sled-dog teams are built and how mushers read their dogs.

After time with the dogs and a chance for photos, you move into the gamme, a traditional Sámi-style hut, for an Arctic stew served around an open fire. Over dinner the guide tells stories about the northern lights and the old postal routes of Finnmark. Then you go back outside to look for the aurora. The lodge sits well away from town lights, but whether the lights appear depends entirely on the sky that night. The evening runs about 4 hours.

It suits people who want to meet sled dogs without driving a sled, families with children aged 8 and over, and anyone who wants a warm, sit-down evening with a chance of the aurora built in. If driving your own team is the point, the same operator runs a daytime 4-hour dog sledding trip in Gargia Valley.

There are only three reviews so far, with a 4.7 rating. The one written review liked the dogs and found the stew tasty, but called the evening overpriced, said there was very little about the northern lights, and wished for more about Sámi culture. Go in expecting a dogs-and-dinner evening with a chance of aurora, not a full northern lights tour.

Highlights

• Time up close with the huskies, with a chance for photos
• Dinner in the warmth of a gamme, a traditional Sámi-style hut
• Northern lights stories and a short presentation over dinner
• A lookout for the aurora at a lodge far from light pollution
• A historic mountain lodge at the edge of Finnmarksvidda

What's Included

• ✓ Return transport from Alta city centre to Gargia Lodge
• ✓ Guided visit to the husky kennel with 40+ dogs and an introduction to sled-dog life
• ✓ Traditional Arctic stew served around the open fire
• ✓ Stories from the old postal routes of Finnmark
• ✓ Northern lights viewing opportunity
• ✓ Live guide in English and Norwegian, about 4 hours in total

Not Included

• Dog sledding: this experience does not include any dog sledding
• Thermal suits or outdoor clothing (not listed as provided)

What to Bring

• Warm clothing
• Weather-appropriate clothing
• Warm boots and gloves for standing outside after dinner
• Camera

Good to Know & Caveats

• This experience does not include any dog sledding.
• The northern lights are a viewing opportunity only; whether they appear depends on the sky that night, and no refund is promised if they do not.
• Not suitable for children under 8 years.
• Pickup is from Alta city centre; confirm the exact pickup point on your voucher.
• Start times vary by date: check availability to see starting times.
• With only 3 reviews so far, the 4.7 rating rests on a very small sample.
• Free cancellation: cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.

Meeting Point

Pickup is from Alta city centre, with return transport to Gargia Lodge included.