Discover Jukkasjärvi

About Jukkasjärvi

Jukkasjärvi is the home of the original Icehotel — the spectacular Arctic hotel made entirely from ice and snow that has been re-built from scratch every winter since 1989, when local entrepreneur Yngve Bergqvist held the first art exhibition in an igloo on the frozen Torne river and discovered that adventurous travellers wanted to sleep in it. Each year (typically completed by mid-December and melting back into the river in April), a team of around 50 international ice artists and architects works for 6 weeks to carve a different 5,500m² hotel of 35-50 themed bedroom suites, an ice bar, an ice chapel for ice weddings (popular!), and dramatic public ice sculpture galleries — each year completely new and unique. The interior is kept at a constant -5°C; guests sleep on ice beds covered with reindeer skins and high-spec sleeping bags rated to -25°C. The newer Icehotel 365, opened in 2016, is solar-powered, kept at -5°C year-round, and offers the experience even in summer. Beyond the hotel, Jukkasjärvi has Sweden's oldest wooden church (Sámi-Lutheran, built 1607) and is a brilliant base for Northern Lights viewing (September-March), husky-sled tours, and the traditional Sami reindeer-herding culture of the wider region.