A visit to the reindeer farm
Two hours at Alatalo farm in Raattama, in the Kyrö reindeer herding district. Always just your own family or group.
This is not a show. The reindeer are fed every day whether anyone visits or not. You join what actually happens on the farm. Visits are by advance booking only; you cannot just drive in.
Kirsi took us to her and her husband Mika’s reindeer, and by the time we left we felt like friends rather than paying guests.
Raattama lies within the Kyrö reindeer herding district, and herding has deep roots here. There are many reindeer farms in the area; ours is a small one, like most. Mika's family has herded for generations and he started as a little boy. This is nothing new here: it is a tradition and a way of life, passed down from one generation to the next over the decades.
The reindeer roam free in the fells and forest. In winter some of them stay home in an enclosure to get stronger, and those are the ones you meet. We feed them the way we always do, and you can join in.
How the visit goes
- The enclosure is about a kilometre from the house, so we take you there by snowmobile sled.
- The reindeer are fed hay and dried birch. You take part in the feeding.
- Afterwards there is time in the kota by the open fire.
The essentials
- Duration
- 2 hours
- Group
- Your own family or group only. We never combine groups.
- Price
- 75 € per adult, 40 € per child
- Booking
- Always in advance, by email or phone, at the latest the day before. Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. The enclosure is a kilometre from our house, so without a booked visit there is nothing to see at the farm.
