Korouoma Frozen Waterfalls Hiking Tour

Beautiful Waterfalls

Enjoyed the hike, slightly difficult in parts but very doable. The waterfalls were beautiful. BBQ lunch enjoyed. On time pick-up.

via Viator

No one showed up

After waiting an hour at the meeting spot, no one came. We had also failed to reach them through Viator. Luckily viator was responsive and told us that the trip appeared to have been cancelled. A little message informing us of this would have saved us precious holiday time, and allowed us to prepare an alternative plan for the day better.

via Viator

Korouoma in early April

Fantastic beautiful site. It was April , so no crowds & very serene. Spikes on shoes provided & recommended as icey. Informative guide who drove very safely!

via Viator

Fantastic Hike

Lovely experience walking through Korouoma National Park. Alex is a friendly and helpful guide showing us around and indulging us in traditional glög and sausages in front of an open fire

via Viator

Elias is a horrible guide. Don’t take this tour. Find a different company.

1 star - awful!!!! Avoid this operator!!!! They clearly don’t train or monitor the performance of the guides. Our guide was Elias. We were picked up at our hotel and he barely said one word to us, only his name. Didn’t tell us anything until we picked up some other guests at a different hotel, and then he told us we could all just sleep until we got there. Once we got there and started the hike, the ground was very slippery due to a small amount of snow, which was partially melting. Elias walked ahead of the group and didn’t show any concern or care about anyone’s safety. Didn’t warn anyone about areas where we might need to take more care. He didn’t even try to stay with the group. He moved ahead quickly, leaving us little time to take in the nature. He had no idea that a bunch of us were slipping and sliding and that someone might fall or hurt themselves. He wasn’t checking to see whether everyone was progressing safely during the hike. He was inconsiderate. He did not show any care or concern for anyone’s safety during the hike at any point. He stopped two or three times during the hike and said about two or three sentences, but he didn’t even wait until the whole group got to where he was before he started speaking. He didn’t have any interesting things to tell us about the area, from what we could hear. He was completely unengaged with the group. Honestly, the experience would’ve been exactly the same if he had dropped us off at the trailhead and said I’ll be back in two hours to pick you up. That is how terrible of a guide he was. We had a direct comparison to a tour that we did the day prior with a different tour operator to the Ranua Zoo - our guide made sure to tell us what areas of the paths were slippery or where it would be easy to fall. I can tell you without hesitation that this experience didn’t come close to the very steep price tag of 266 euros per person. Best to skip this one, people. Or, request to have a guide that is NOT named Elias. Interestingly, we had been contacted by the tour company several days prior to either cancel or reschedule our tour because the conditions would be wet and slippery, which implies that the tour operator cares about your safety while on the hike. And we did take that recommendation and we did reschedule the tour for a different day. Now, I’m not sure why, because clearly they didn’t care if anybody fell or hurt themselves or was even enjoying themselves. It might’ve also been helpful to be informed before the tour that the waterfalls weren’t yet frozen, as what they called “waterfalls” were very unimpressive. Probably one of the worst tours I’ve ever done and with the worst tour guide I’ve experienced. Save your money and book with someone else if you are interested in this place. At one point, the guide was so far ahead and I saw him looking back at us and I said, well I guess we are going to be doing our own tour. He should have stopped to receive feedback and should ask if everyone is okay. He needs to go back to guide school. He is not qualified to take anyone on this ‘hike’ that was called a ‘tour’.

Response from the operator: Wow, best review I’ve ever seen! We’re very sorry for the bad experience, but just to clarify — this is literally a hike through a frozen canyon and forest. It’s not the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It can be slippery, so it’s important to understand that before booking a hike in the Arctic. As well we rescheduled your tour due to weather conditions and even offered a cancellation with a full refund because of the weather. Also, the rest of the group had no issues, by the way. Regarding the guide — yes, we’ll keep an eye on him. One more thing - we never had price tag of 266 euros per person.

via Tripadvisor