H-G PARTAPUOLI SIIDA
SAMI TOURISM

HGP-Home->Arrangements

We adjust our arrangements according to season, weather and the desires of our guest. Board and lodging are always included. We always agree on other equipment and transport with our guest before arrival.

Examples of our arrangements during the different seasons: SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER.

In the spring we watch over the reindeer herd since the female reindeer give birth to their calves from the middle of May and a few weeks ahead. The period before and after calving is the most sensitive for the reindeer and the reindeer herders must therefore watch over the reindeer so that the female reindeer don’t get disturbed.

The guest will go with us and experience springtime in the mountains: the light spring nights, the melting snow above the tree line, birds returning from the south, rippling brooks, jig-fishing and the laughter of the ptarmigan.

In the spring we stay overnight in the reindeer herders’ cottages in the mountain area. If we are in a place where there are no cottages we sleep in big tents (like the Indian tepee).

Board and lodging are always included in our spring arrangements. Our point of departure during spring is the village of Arosjokk.

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Photo: Peter Rosén

We always spend the height of the summer period in the high mountain area with our reindeer. Our summer village is situated in Alisjávri (about 40 km from Abisko along the King’s trail) and this is also the starting point for our summer arrangements.

During this time period we mark the calves. It’s a busy time for both animals and people. Our reindeer graze in their summer land and we gather them to a reindeer corral when marking the calves.

We do this 5-6 times in the summer and our guest will go with us; experience the gathering of the reindeer and the marking of the calves. The rest of the time he or she shares our everyday life in the high mountain area: go char fishing, take a sauna beside the mountain lake of Alisjávri or walk around in the big stillness.

We either stay in a cottage or a tepee, depending on where we are. Food and sleeping equipment are included in the price.

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In August we leave the reindeer alone and let them graze in order to get big and fat in preparation for autumn and winter. During this period we go berry picking and fishing. At the beginning of August we pick cloudberries and later it’s time for blueberries and lingonberries. Our reindeer are now in the lower parts of the mountain area.

September is the time of the year when we cash in our annual profits. The reindeer are gathered to a reindeer corral not far from the road and reindeer are slaughtered both for our own household and for buyers. The guest will be with us and experience the old kind of decent slaughter, out-of-doors. We make use of everything and put up the reindeer hide to dry like our forefathers used to do.

During the same period we also go moose hunting and fishing, so September is a busy time of the year. We go moose hunting in the forests close to the mountains, far away from roads. We stay overnight in tepees. Board and lodging are included.

At the end of September the oestrus starts and the reindeer will be left alone until the end of the oestrus, i.e. 3-4 weeks. After this period we gather the reindeer in corrals in order to check unmarked and wrongly marked calves. We geld male reindeer and slaughter for the household. Our guest may accompany us to the lower mountain region and experience the first snow, which usually melts away after a couple of days. We stay overnight in cottages. Board and lodging are included and our starting point is Arosjokk.

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WINTER

Photo: Peter Rosén

The winter is a long period in our part of the world. It begins in November and ends in April.

In November-December we gather the reindeer for the separation of the reindeer. This means that we divide the big herd into smaller herds, so called “sitas” or family groups, which are kept together during the whole winter. The different “sitas” move to different forest areas east of Kiruna (e.g. Piilijarvi, Parakka, Vettasjarvi) where the reindeer graze during the winter (they dig for lichen and moss under the snow).

If there is enough food for the reindeer we only watch over the reindeer and keep the herd together. Sometimes we move the herd to un-grazed areas. If the food is scarce we have to start feeding the reindeer. Usually we transport fodder into the forest. Our guest will accompany us on all these occasions, depending on when the guest arrives and what is going on just then.

Sometime in the spring-winter time we start gathering the reindeer again and move up to the lower mountain area, waiting for the calving. We stay in existing cottages. Board, lodging and equipment are included.

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