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Reisa Lodge
Far behind the Arctic Circle, in little known Nordreisa region, in the upper part of the wild Reisadalen valley, straight above clean Reisa river, just at the foot of majestic Gahperus mountain, very close to the unique Reisa National Park… Reisa Lodge is ideally situated to offer extraordinary range of traditional, but also quite unique outdoor-sport or nature-based activities. Whatever you dream about, you will find it here. From hard-core adrenaline-fuelled adventures to the simple peaceful touch of the purest Nature. Add silence, clean rivers and lakes, fresh air and absolute solitude and you might start to understand how powerful healing place this is.
We here at Reisa Lodge are here to help you to experience it all. It’s our pleasure to show you the best of what our unique Arctic playground has to offer.
ABOUT US
Reisa Lodge was built about 20 years ago by the current friendly lodge owner, succesful businessman Roar Olsen. Roar lived in Tromsø, where he for 30 years owned the biggest REMA 1000 food supermarket in the wold. For many years, our Lodge was named “Reisastua”. Roar is a passionate fisherman, and the lodge was mainly focussed on high class Salmon fly fishing. Fishermen from all over the world came here to catch the biggest salmons of their careers. With the huge help of famous fly fishing photographer Matt Harris and 4 times spey fly casting world champion Scott Mackenzie, Reisastua gradually became one of the best salmon fishing destinations in the world. In spring 2022, Reisa river was closed for Salmon fishing. This was a big breaking point for the lodge.
In the autumn of 2022 Roar teamed up with professional outdoor sports filmmaker Petr Pavlicek and with photographer and creative person Radka Minksova. They both see the huge complex potential of this unique forgotten area. This has marked the beginning of new era. In December 2022, Reisastua became Reisa Lodge. This new website, created by Radka and Petr, was released on Christmas 2023. Together with local guiding company Amazing Troms, represented by its owner Steffen Bakkland, since November 2022, the new team is focussed on gradual development of much wider variety of activities in nature. Our immodest dream is to establish this fantastic place into one of the best destinations in Norway focussed on cool outdoor activites for everyone.
ALL YEAR ROUND DESTINATION
We are thinking very differently! Consisting of a few carefully selected sport experts, explorers, photographers and the best local guides, we are here to help you design your perfect Arctic experience for 365 days a year. There is no off-season here in Reisa! Every month our special Nature offers something different.
WINTER
During a very long winter, our area offers most types of skiing. From relaxed cross-country forest hikes, over backcountry trips to the surrounding “vidda” (vast mountain plateaus, the home of the Sámi people and their reindeers), up to the most extreme ski-mountaineering in the coolest steep couloirs you have ever seen. Our new specialty is rare and really fun “snowmoskiing”. Just choose your style and we show you the line.
Get to know the whales “face to face” on authentic whale safari. Our long valley offers world class ice-climbing on countless frozen waterfalls of all sizes and difficulties – ready to climb? Become a musher and ride you the sledge with your own dogs on our dog-sledging tours. Wanna drive your own snowmobile through the endless breathtaking “Antarctica like” landscape? We are right in the cold heart of Sápmi, also known as Lappland, with the most amazing Norwegian snowmobile terrains just behind our doors. Not a friend of adrenaline? Grab your camera, put on the snowshoes and explore calm hidden natural gems together with our photographers. Fed up with the city life? Build your own winter wilderness camp, where you light your fire, cook your food and sleep in a tent under the northern lights. Our adventure lodge, due to it’s remote location and no light pollution, is one of the best places in Norway to watch the Northern Lights. There’s no better thing in the world than observing strong Aurora Borealis, dancing above your head, while relaxing in the hot jacuzzi at the top of the lodge after a day full of the Arctic adventures. Do you have a special winter Arctic dream? Just tell us, you are on the right address…
SPRING AND SUMMER
In the second half of May, the snow starts to disappear here in the valley. River Reisa elva opens and starts offering fantastic trout fishing and water sports possibilities. In June, you can already take an exciting guided 20 – 30 km long riverboat trip through breathtaking canyon deep into the heart of nearby Reisa National Park. There you discover some of the most beautiful waterfalls of Northern Norway, of which the most famous are Mollisfossen and Imofossen. From here you can packraft all the way back to Reisastua. The wide surroundings of the lodge offer endless biking, hiking and extraordinary trail-running possibilities. You can dive deep into the untouched forest or you can go closer to the sea and hike or run to the tops of endless amount of fantastic sharp peaks with incredible views. The traverse of the main ridge of Uløya island during midnight sun offers breathtaking view towards close Lyngen Alps, which belongs to the strongest you can experience in the whole Europe.
Generally said, the Nordreisa region is arguably the most beautiful area with the most complex Nature of the whole Norway. The variety of different types of landscape is mindblowing. From Lofoten or Senja like sharp coastal mountains and deep fjords, across huge long valleys, best Norwegian canyon, glaciers, steep huge big-walls, wild rivers, very nice lakes, many breathtaking waterfalls all the way to the endless innland mountain plateaus full of nice fishing lakes and rounded mountains.
No matter what type of personality you are, no matter you physical shape or wilderness skills, you will find here great hidden trails which will lead you to the place of your heart. We are here to give you our best tips. You also can hire a guide and experience a multi day adventure in real wilderness, where you can combine several activities in one trip. During such trip you will see a lot of wild-life, and if you are lucky, you meet huge herds of reindeers on the endles mountain plateaus of Finmarksvidda on both sides of the lodge.
Just a few minutes from the lodge we have just discovered really great future climbing crag with incredible rock quality, fantastic setting and high amount of beautiful future routes. For sure it has potential to become one of the best climbing crags in northern part of Norway.
AUTUMN
From the beginning of September, the days are getting feelingly shorter, nights colder and the trees and bushes start to change their colors. In the middle of September the colors have their peak and Reisa valley look like a land from different planet. Landscape photographers can hardly find a nicer area for their autumn photo hunts.
But even after the leaves are gone in late September, there is still a lot to do… You can feel the Arctic winter in the air, which is a special, strong and hard to describe feeling. You can feel totally alone here. Something like this is so rare in this hectic world full of stress and uncertainty. Here in Reisa, it’s different world. Days are colder, usually dry and the sky is clear. Paths are dry and frozen and the northern light might be already dancing on the sky 12 hours a day. Such a peaceful time of the year. First ice covers the lakes, a bit later also the rivers. Some dry years the lakes in Reisadalen offer weeks long fantastic and safe ice-skating. In November the first waterfalls freeze and the long period of ice-climbing starts and you can make your first ski turns higher in the mountains.
What an amazing time to have the calm Nature of this part of Norway just for you…
VISION
Our goal is to establish Reisa region as one of the best outdoor sport’s and nature based destinations in Norway. We believe, that our nature, if used in a smart sustainable way, can become very popular among new different target groups. We will do our best to offer our guest our knowledge, so that they experience unforgettable memories, which will make many of them coming back to Reisa for the rest of the life…
Visit us and become part of our adventurous Reisa Lodge family.