LIGHT FANTASTIC

Experience the wonders of the aurora borealis from a glass igloo beneath the stars

You probably haven’t heard of Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort – but you will have seen the pictures. Which is just as well, really, because it’s hard to describe perfection. Glass igloo domes sit like little jewels amid the purest white snow, deeply drifted between tall pine-trees. Log cabins are scattered around a frozen lake, firelight flickering from their windows. Above, the aurora borealis plays, turning the night sky into a shimmering Technicolor spectacle that’s beyond words or reason. It’s so picturesque that Ralph Lauren shot a winter-wonderland ad campaign here in the heart of Finnish Lapland, some 150 miles above the Arctic Circle, next to the country’s largest national park, where wolves still roam wild.

Though it is in the middle of nowhere, Kakslauttanen is surprisingly easy to find. After a short flight from Helsinki to the town of Ivalo, a 40-minute drive along the sweeping North Cape highway brings you to the hotel – though it looks nothing like any hotel you’ve ever seen. It was founded by Jussi Eiramo in 1973 as a roadside café and campsite for travellers; his family still run it, and the original chalet remains in what is now called the East Village, alongside a new cluster of traditional log cabins, the famous glass igloos and, in season, an ice chapel. (There’s also a more recently built West Village a mile or two away, catering for tour parties and larger groups.)

From the moment you enter the rugged single-storey building that acts as both reception and restaurant, the charm of Kakslauttanen begins to emerge. Admittedly, there’s no concierge

or housekeeper, no room service or turndown, no minibar, flatscreen TV, slippers or robes, or even Wi-Fi. There’s only a small shop selling local crafts, coffee and snacks. The food is hearty though unfussy, a compulsory set menu of traditional fare like reindeer stew and mash. This is not a haven of luxury in the accepted sense. Instead, you’re given a hand-drawn map, told to put your luggage on a wooden sledge and left to find your own accommodation, wandering through the woods on slippery paths of hard-packed snow. Room keys are attached to a small torch – for much of winter, there are only a few hours of sun, and artificial light pollution is kept to a bare minimum.

But inside the rustic pine cabins – set far enough apart as to make you feel almost completely alone – are huge stone fireplaces, rocking chairs with thick wool blankets, wooden beds hand-carved from tree trunks and delicious private saunas. Tartan curtains open to reveal red squirrels in the trees outside. The air is icy cold and impossibly clear; the snow shimmers, pristine and crystalline in the pale sunshine. There’s a deep silence that’s unsettling at first – though after you have lit a fire, poured a glass of red wine and pulled on cashmere socks, it becomes almost meditative.

While days can be filled with action and activity – reindeer and husky sledding, sleigh rides, tobogganing, ice-fishing, Nordic skiing on miles of track that stretch through the resort – there’s one thing that brings visitors to Kakslauttanen, and that’s the Northern Lights. According to a recent Discovery Channel survey, viewing the celestial phenomenon features on more bucket lists than any other travel experience. Perfectly unspoilt and far away from civilisation, this may just be the best place in the world to do it. Most people stay in a cabin then switch to a glass igloo for a single night – this is because, in the East Village at least, they have few facilities other than a tiny lavatory, and showers are found in a communal block a 10-minute trudge away. But still, what does it matter when there are such things to see?

There were no Lights for us in the igloo, magical as it was. Though we lay in bed staring through our glass roof at the Arctic sky for hours, struggling to stay awake after a long day of sledging, above us remained stubbornly black. The clouds parted once to unveil an astonishing, tantalising display of stars, then the darkness rolled slowly in again. But the next night, back in the relative comfort of a cabin, we gave it another try, dressing up in thermals and Moncler puffas to go out onto the frozen lake at midnight. It was colder than we’d ever felt before, the temperature dropping sharply to -30 degrees. A few other guests shivered beside us, cameras at the ready. Then, suddenly, it was as if someone had turned the electricity on. A flash of green and then another, the sky dancing with colour and strange shifting shapes. We watched in wonder for half an hour, speechless at such eerie beauty, before it stopped as quickly as it had begun. The following night, wearing padded snowsuits and face masks, we chased the aurora on snowmobiles through deep forest, racing to the peak of a hill where the whole of Lapland seemed to reveal itself before us. And there it was again, the heavens alive and glorious.

If true luxury lies in experience, Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort is nothing less than six-star.

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort (www.kakslauttanen.fi); glass igloos, from £250 a night; log chalets, from £110 a night. Finnair flies to Ivalo via Helsinki from London, Manchester and Edinburgh, from £190 return. See www.visitfinland.com and www.finnair.com for further information on Finland and flights.

Suddenly, a flash of green and then another, the sky dancing with colour and strange shifting shapes