Built from snow every winter, gone by spring

Nothing here lasts past spring. SnowVillage is cut, packed and carved from snow and ice each winter in Finnish Lapland, near Kittilä and the Ylläs fells, then left to melt when the season ends. The following December it goes up again to a different theme, so the layout and the carvings change from year to year.

Inside, the air holds at a few degrees below zero whatever the weather does outside. Guests sleep on ice beds under insulated bedding in expedition-grade sleeping bags, and a warm building nearby holds the showers, saunas and changing rooms. There is an ice bar, an ice chapel and a restaurant. Aurora sightings are possible on clear nights through the dark months, and the site normally runs from around December into April.