Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Nestled right on the edge of the cold, stark Finland wilderness, the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort is certainly off the beaten path, but as its futuristic-looking glass igloos prove, that doesn’t mean that you’re roughing it. 

According to the resort’s website, the unique travel destination was started back in 1973 when its founder, Jussi, was traveling down the lonely roads just south of Finland’s northernmost fishing village. As the story goes, his car broke down, and he was forced to make camp near the isolated roadside woods. Instead of just thinking of this excursion as a minor inconvenience, he fell in love with the spot and set up a permanent roadside stop-in that eventually grew up to be the current Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort.

The site of Jussi’s breakdown has grown into a luxury resort destination which features a variety of interesting accommodations. There are cozy log cabins, some with built-in glass nooks to better view the surrounding wilderness and auroras. There are the snow igloos which are little ice hotels where visitors can get warm in a very cold place. And perhaps most astoundingly, there is the field of glass igloos which all look like little see-through geodesic domes where nothing can obstruct your view of the Northern Lights. 

The resort, sitting at almost the northern tip of Europe, seems like some sci-fi outpost built on the edge of the world to survive its collapse, but really it’s just a cozy little spot to enjoy the beauty surrounding it.