Things To Know Before You Go to Samiland

Getting There and Around
Kiruna and Jokkmokk are in the far north of Sweden, far closer to the Norwegian cities of Narvik and Tromsø than Stockholm. There are regular flights from Stockholm to Kiruna, and other airports in the vicinity, or from Oslo to Narvik and Tromsø. The train from Stockholm takes 17 hours. You can also fly to the north of Norway, as I did, and take the spectacular two-and-a-half-hour train ride over the mountains to Kiruna. Jokkmokk can be reached by bus from Luleå or Kiruna via Gällivare. Bus service is frequent during the Winter Market. For those who prefer to drive (I didn't), the roads are good but sometimes icy.

No visa is needed for Sweden, and English is spoken everywhere.

Where To Stay and Dine
In Kiruna I stayed at the Vinterpalaset (Winter Palace), one of the town's oldest hotels, but completely renovated in a light and elegant style. Many people visiting the Ice Hotel, 12 miles away in Jukkasjärvi, stay one night in a snow bedroom for the experience and a night or two more in one of the warm cabins or inn rooms. Dining opportunities are limited but delicious near the Ice Hotel, while Kiruna has hotel restaurants, pizzerias, and cafes. I took up part-time residence during my stay at Café Safari, which does lattes, tea, and warm food.

You have to admire the people in Jokkmokk for putting on a festival that attracts 30,000 people while providing few places for them to stay (especially since only the extremely hardy would think of camping in winter). The Hotel Gastis and the Hotel Jokkmokk were fully booked when I tried to reserve a room last July, so don't count on getting a room in either for the upcoming 400-year celebration in February 2005. The tourist office will e-mail you a list of local residents who offer private accommodation; other possibilities are to stay in some of the nearby towns, for instance Gällivare or Vuollerim. Bribery may be useful. On the other hand, there are tons of places to eat in Jokkmokk during the market, especially on the street. Try sautéed reindeer in a soft pita-like bread, or Finnish sausage. The Ájtte Museum has an excellent restaurant serving Sami specialties.

Gällivare, between Kiruna and Jokkmokk, also makes a good base, especially for skiers. There are world-class slopes on Mount Dundret and several hotels in town. Mount Dundret is also where Pathfinder has its offices and tent. You can visit reindeer, have a delicious meal, and hear about Sami culture from Lennart and Anders—but not during the Winter Market. Because, of course, they too will be in Jokkmokk.

Books and Web Sites
Lonely Planet and The Rough Guide to Scandinavia offer good background information on northern Sweden and Samiland, and so do a variety of Web sites, including www.turism.jokkmokk.se, www.lapland.se (about Kiruna), www.ajtte.com/, and www.sametinget.se (the Web site of the Sami Parliament in Kiruna). A Year in Lapland: Guest of the Reindeer Herders, is a warmly informative memoir by Hugh Beach. Beach was a young American who went to live and work with the Sami in Sweden in the '60s. The book has been newly reissued by the University of Washington Press. Few contemporary Sami authors have been translated into English, but a good place to learn more about their literary history and language is the anthology In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun: Contemporary Sami Prose and Poetry, edited by Harald Gaski.

Films and Music
Yes, the Sami do make movies, but few are shown outside Scandinavia. If you're really up for an adventure, make a pilgrimage, as I did two years ago, to Inari, Finland, even farther north than Kiruna, where an innovative film festival of work by Sami and other indigenous people takes place every January. If that's too far to travel, check out Pathfinder from your local video store. A film from 1987, directed by Norwegian Sami Nils Gaup, the story is based on a legend and is a gripping adventure with plenty of snow.

Sami music is less difficult to locate. CDs by of two of the biggest stars in the north, Mari Boine from Norway and Wimme from Finland, are readily available. They do their own take on the ancient practice of joiking, but you can also find the real stuff by doing a search on the Web (hint: look for the Anglicized spelling—"yoiking").

Tips
Don't forget the warm clothing. For those of you who live in Maine or Minnesota, this won't be a problem, but everyone else, be advised: Temperatures can get down to minus 40 degrees centigrade. On the other hand, Scandinavian interiors are always toasty, and don't forget about saunas!