Laponia yoga and hiking retreat

Sign out and relax with a mountain retreat in Laponia World Heritage site

Welcome to our mountain retreat with yoga and hiking in the peaceful and pristine mountains around Laponia World Heritage site. For thousands of years, the Sami people have lived and migrated through those mountain valleys in harmony with nature. What a perfect location to sign out and disconnect from your daily life. We guide you to our favorite mountains and hidden pearls involving yoga and meditation in the program. The yoga and the meditation, led by Petra Kalla from Yoga Therapy, will be beautifully adapted to wishes and needs in the group. You can expect a mix of indoor morning yoga in our cozy yoga room and shorter yoga or meditation sessions sitting down directly on the ground up in the mountains.

Our mountain retreat with yoga and hiking starts at Saltoluokta Mountain lodge located in roadless land. We stay in comfortable beds, just a few steps from both the yoga room and the forest and the mountains outside the door. We cook tasty meal together and enjoy breakfast in the restaurant at Saltoluokta Mountain lodge. Our menu is based on vegan meals with side dishes for you who would like to get a taste of some local specialties. After a few days in Saltoluokta we hike across the mountains to Pietsaure Sami settlement where we spend two nights in mountain cabins surrounded by pure nature and spectacular mountain views. We’ll take time to enjoy the sound of nature, and the brave ones maybe stop to swim in a crystal clear mountain lake.

Our idea is to leave all demands from our daily life and enjoy spectacular mountain views and recovering yoga in a calm and pristine area

This yoga retreat is for you who…

…are looking for a retreat that combines yoga and hiking with meditation and nature experience. You’ll need no earlier experience from neither yoga nor meditation or hiking. All the classes can be adjusted to your level. To be able to take part in all hiking activities you must be able to hike about 10 kilometer per day in terrain with moderate differences in altitude and with a backpack of around 5-10 kg. Recommended age from 16 years old. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding your physical ability or experience level.

Join us and experience:

• To sign out and relax in a peaceful environment
• Yoga and meditation up in the mountains
• A mountain SPA in a wood heated sauna
• Staying in a Sami settlement
• The midnight sun

About the yoga and the yoga therapist

Walking in the magnificent nature is in itself restorative for body and soul. Through therapeutic Hatha yoga, qigong and meditations, you can invite your whole being to fully attend this nature experience. Every morning we invite an intention from the heart and do exercises that prepare us for the day hike. During the hike, we take shorter yoga, qigong and meditation breaks adapted to the weather and the group’s needs. This moments help you to release tensions and become softer, both in your body and your mind, to gain access to more energy. In the evening, relaxing exercises and meditation prepare us for a complete recovery and a deep night’s sleep.

The focus will be on both mental and physical recovery to give your mind a welcome break from everyday life. The surrounding nature inspire and help you find presence in the present and gain new perspectives on life. This yoga retreat is led by Petra Kalla from Yoga therapy. Petra was born and raised in Gällivare but now lives in Järna south of Stockholm and works as a certified Yoga Therapist.

Being in nature, and especially the mountains, always evokes a feeling of reverence and gratitude in me. I see myself, my lifeline in a new light; what I feel is so important for me in my everyday life, fades when overlooking the history of this landscape. An inner space opens up, where I meet the simplicity and stillness that characterize pure presence. / Petra Kalla

Yoga and hiking in small groups with a local guide

During this mountain retreat you’ll meet a guide from Laponia Adventures. Your guide will lead the hikes and make sure you get food on the table (or on the ground) and a bed to sleep in. We want you to have the best experience possible for a relaxing and energizing yoga retreat in the mountain. Therefore, we travel in small groups of maximum 12 guests in total. All our guides have long experience from hiking in the area and can tell you stories about the culture and history in Laponia. They are all certified guides trained in wilderness first aid or live up to the same standard or higher.

Solo travelers

Many of our guests travel on their own and don’t know anyone else in the team when arriving Gällivare. It is a great opportunity to find new yoga friends. Solo travelers are of course welcome to book the yoga retreat, but we will need a minimum of four guests in total to go.

Information

Accommodation and comfort

The first two nights and the last night we’ll stay at Saltoluokta mountain lodge, a cozy and genuine accommodation, located right by the foot of the mountain and away from roads and civilizations. The oldest building is built already in 1912 and the main building is from 1918. The standard accommodation is a bed in a multi-bed room with shared toilets and showers. As far as possible we try to offer separate rooms for men and woman. You’ll have to bring towels and linen and before departure you’ll clean out the rooms. If you choose to upgrade to a single or two-person bed room, linen, towels and room cleaning is included. Toilets are shared also for singles, and two-person bedrooms. Wifi is available in all room types and you’ll find showers and sauna in a nearby building. The mountain view from the sauna is something special.

In Petsjaure we stay two nights in simple but comfortable mountain cabins with four beds and a kitchen in each cabin. You’ll find an outhouse not far away from the cabins. There is no wifi och phone reception, and no electricity or running water. We all help to carry water and feed the fire in the stove that heats the cabins. The cabins are located on a natural beach in one end of an almost 10-kilometer long lake between two impressive mountains. A perfekt place to get closer to nature. Pietsjaure Sijdda is an own Sami settlement where the Sami used to have a longer stop during spring, on their way to the summer grassing area. Today, a Sami family lives here during summer and run the café, rent cabins and run boat traffic on the lake.

The food

Saltoluokta mountain lodge, was built over hundred years ago and during the years, the restaurant has served many mountain hikers a generous breakfast and tasty dinners. Saltoluokta is known for its good food and cozy atmosphere. We eat breakfast in the restaurant and finish the week with a two-course dinner. Other days we cook tasty food together. Lunch is prepared outside up in the mountain and dinners in the common kitchen. The menu for this mountain retreat with yoga and hiking is based on a vegan diet with the option to add dairy products as well as local fish and meat products. In Petsjaure Sami settlement, there will be a chance to taste locally caught and smoked fish together with gáhkku, traditional flat bread.

Start and end location

We will meet you at the train station in Gällivare at 9.00 on day 1. After the tour we will be back in Gällivare around 15 on day 6, or in time to take the afternoon night train heading south.

Travel here

More information about how to get to Gällivare and back home you’ll find here.

However you choose to travel here, flexible tickets are recommended. We also recommend you to have a valid travel insurance and check passport and VISA rules befor traveling to Sweden.

Stay warm and dry

In the Swedish mountains we see all kinds of weather. We can experience sunshine and +30 degrees during the day but also +5 degrees with rain and strong winds. Night temperatures can drop down to almost 0. Our packing list helps you to decide what to bring to stay warm and happy on the tour.

 Packing list – Saltoluokta mountain retreat >>

How heavy will your backpack be?

Saltoluokta Mountain lodge is located in roadless land and we get there by a 10-minute boat ride, followed by a short walk along a graveled trail. We recommend that you travel with a backpack or a bag that can easily be carried a couple of hundred meters. During the day trips you will be carry a few safety items such as rain gear, warmer layer and a water bottle but also part of the lunch. Expect your backpack to be around 3-5kg including water.

On the day when we hike to Pietsaure Sami settlement you will need to carry a bit more food. We will be away for two days without possibility to re-supply. Expect your backpack to be around 6-8 kg including water. The luggage that you will not need can be left in Saltoluokta. Please try packing all clothes and items you’ll expect you’ll need in your backpack already at home. Make sure there is room for some food. A larger backpack can be rented from us if needed, please let us know in advance.

What about mosquitoes?

There will be mosquitoes. How much depends on the temperature and how much rain we have had recently. But also how windy the weather is during the week for our retreat with yoga and hiking. We do our best to choose yoga and meditation spots and to have breaks where we have a light breeze that keeps most of the mosquitoes away. If you are sensitive to bugs we recommend that you’ll bring a head net and mosquito repellent. Are you allergic you should consult a doctor about possible anti-histamin to reduce the reaction from the mosquito bites.

Itinerary

Included meals marked each day with B=breakfast, L=lunch and D=dinner

DAY 1 ARRIVAL GÄLLIVARE – SALTOLUOKTA (L,D)

We pick you up at Gällivare train station for a short intro to the yoga and hiking before we continue in mini-vans to Naturum Stora sjöfallet. Arrive with the morning train from Stockholm or travel here a day earlier and book an extra night in Gällivare before the tour begins. When we arrive Naturum we’ll have lunch and take time to look at the exhibition about Laponia World Heritage site. Before continuing to Kebnats from where the boat takes us to Saltoluokta Mountain lodge, we take some time to admire the views around us and land in the present after all the traveling. Saltoluokta mountain lodge is located in roadless land and right by the foot of the mountain and this is where we start and finish our yoga retreat. We check into our rooms and cook dinner together. We end the day with yoga and meditation in the yoga room.

DAY 2 DAY TOUR SALTOLUOKTA (B,L,D)

We start the day with a refreshing yoga class before having breakfast in the restaurant. Today our hike will take us up to Buollamtjåhkkå, a low mountain with a fantastic view of the large valley below. If the weather allows, we do yoga on the top of the mountain and let our lungs breath fresh mountain air. In the evening we cook dinner together before you have time to prepare for the hike to Pietsaure.

Hiking distance: 10 km, elevation gain/loss: +350/-350 m, estimated time hiking: ca 4-5h

DAY 3 TO PETSAURE (B,L,D)

In the morning we do yoga before we eat breakfast and move out from our rooms. Luggage that you don’t want to bring to Petsjaure can be left in Saltoluokta. A six kilometer long path leads us up the mountain side and over a pass before it turns down towards Lake Pietsaure and the Sami settlement. In the afternoon we take some time to relax and enjoy the view. Maybe a swim in the lake? We do yoga outside and then sleep well in cozy mountain cabins.

Hiking distance: 6 km, elevation gain/loss: +400/-100 m, estimated time hiking: ca 3h

DAY 4 DAY TOUR PETSAURE (B,L,D)

Vi enjoy a full day with yoga and hiking at Petsjaure. Often we are alone with the family that lives here most of the day. For you who would like some more challenging hiking, there is a chance to join a longer hike up to mount Luleå Gierkav. From the top you, on a clear day, we have a spectacular view over Sarek National Park and the surrounding lakes. You can also choose to do a shorter hike and get deeper into yoga and meditation together with Petra. In the afternoon we all come together to enjoy a hot wood-fired sauna. Maybe you dare to take a dip in the lake? In the evening we have dinner in the café where you’ll have the chance to try local catches and smoke fish and Gáhkku, a locally baked bread. We’ll finish the day with yoga or an evening tour to enjoy the midnight sun.

DAY 5 BACK TO SALTOLUOKTA (B,L,D)

We start the day with yoga on the beach with a view towards Sarek National Park. We have breakfast and hike back to Saltoluokta mountain lodge passing a spectacular ravine created by rushing water thousands of years ago. At Saltoluokta we take time to get back to our rooms and shower before we enjoy dinner in the restaurant.

Hiking distance: 8 km, elevation gain/loss: +50/-350 m, estimated time hiking: ca 4h

DAY 6 DEPARTURE SALTOLUOKTA (B,L)

We enjoy a last yoga class before we take the boat across the lake to Kebnats where the minibus is waiting. The journey continues back to Gällivare where we end the yoga and hiking in good time for you to board the evening train south.

We reserve the right to make changes

Nature is a dynamic place and we may need to adjust the route and the itinerary according to the current weather conditions. We are also in contact with representatives for the local reindeer herders’ communities and other local actors to collaborate in the best way possible.

Do you have any question?

Send us an email to info@laponiaadventures.com
We are happy to help and will answer you as soon as we can.