NordenBladet —A new assessment of threatened species indicates an increasing loss of biodiversity in Finnish nature. Of the 22 000 species evaluated, 11.9% were classified as threatened, compared to 10.5% in the previous assessment. All species groups include threatened species, and the highest proportion can be found among birds and bryophytes (mosses). The primary cause of threat is the decline and deterioration of natural habitat. Much can be done to stop this development, but urgent action is needed.
Largest proportion of threatened species among birds and bryophytes
Approximately one third of Finnish bird and bryophyte species are under threat. The proportion of threatened species is also large among lichens, vascular plants, butterflies and moths, and hymenopterans. The situation has deteriorated in all of these groups since the previous evaluation. Almost one third of vertebrate animals are endangered. Critically endangered species include, for example, the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), Landlocked salmon (Salmon salar m. sebago) and Ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana), among twenty other species.
Approximately 10% of Finnish insect species are threatened. For some insects, the situation has improved, as many of the southern species have benefited from climate warming. On the other hand, over 200 butterfly and moth species are even more endangered than before, even if the situation has improved for 152 species.
Species becoming more threatened in all habitats
Species are becoming threatened the fastest in fell areas, mires, aquatic habitats and rock outcrops. Only some improvements have occurred among species living in such areas. The threatened species in fell areas include particularly butterflies, moths and vascular plants suffering from, for example, the effects of climate change.
The majority of threatened species live in forests and rural biotopes, as well as other environments established as a result of human activity. Part of the species in such habitats have become threatened, but at the same time, the situation has improved for other species. As a whole, species in such habitats are declining at a slower pace than in fell areas and mires. The forests and rural biotopes are home to the largest number of species, which partly explains the large number of threatened species.
The biggest threat is the decline and degradation of habitat
Changes in the forest environment are the most significant cause of threat to species, as is the case with 733 threatened species. These changes include forest management activities, as well as the reduction of old-growth forests and large trees, as well as decreasing amounts of dead and decaying wood.
The second most common threat to species is the overgrowing of open habitats, which is the primary cause of threat to 639 species. Climate change poses a threat to, in particular, species in fell areas.
Concrete actions to improve the situation for species
Much can be done to stop the decline of species. In the Red List of Finnish Species, both broad and targeted measures are presented to improve the living conditions of species. Conservation areas alone cannot ensure the protection of species. Instead, biodiversity must be taken into account in all use of natural resources and areas.
Active conservation, restoration and management measures should be significantly increased, in particular, to protect species in mires and bird wetlands. In addition, more information about the occurrence of species and observations on their way of life are also required. Also the availability and usability of information should be improved.
The fifth assessment of threatened species in Finland
The assessment of threatened species in Finland was carried out for the fifth time. The work was coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), and it involved 180 experts from universities, museums of natural history, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Metsähallitus and the Finnish Mammalogical Society. In addition, expert enthusiasts and retired natural scientists gave their valuable contribution to the assessment. A steering group appointed by the Ministry of the Environment guided the work and approved the assessments.
Further information:
Senior Ministerial Adviser Esko Hyvärinen, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 400 143 876, firstname.o.lastname@ym.fi
Senior Researcher Ulla-Maija Liukko, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), tel. +358 295 251 387, firstname.lastname@ymparisto.fi
Unit Director Aino Juslén, Finnish Museum of Natural History, tel. +358 50 310 9703, firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi
Biodiversity & Communication Expert Riku Lumiaro, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), tel. +358 40 509 8654, firstname.lastname@ymparisto.fi
A new assessment of threatened species indicates an increasing loss of biodiversity in Finnish nature. Of the 22 000 species evaluated, 11.9% were classified as threatened, compared to 10.5% in the previous assessment. All species groups include threatened species, and the highest proportion can be found among birds and bryophytes (mosses). The primary cause of threat is the decline and deterioration of natural habitat. Much can be done to stop this development, but urgent action is needed.
NordenBladet —Perseverance in the voluntary restoration of the urban brook of Longinoja in the Malmi suburb of Helsinki won the Finnish Biodiversity Award 2017-2018. The winner was chosen by the National Committee of Finland of IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature. The award was given out in Helsinki on 25 February 2019 by Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen.
Together with other countries in the world, Finland is committed to halting the loss of natural diversity by 2020. The Finnish Biodiversity Award was created to find innovative solutions that help reach the national and international goals.
The Biodiversity Award 2017-2018 goes to Mr Juha Salonen, the focal character in Longinoja Brook restoration, and the active brook restauration volunteers. Situated next to a major railroad, the urban Longinoja Brook was restored by a group of volunteers working together with many other actors, during a period of over 15 years.
“Thanks to active restoration work, the brook has now revived, and large numbers of threatened sea trout come again to spawn in the Longinoja Brook. This kind of hands-on work is important in the conservation of species. The volunteer work has opened the eyes of many city dwellers to the importance of urban nature areas,” says Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen.
Visitors to Longinoja Brook can enjoy the diverse stream landscape because of the volunteer efforts. The restoration work has increased the knowledge of the participants on streams and the importance of the whole stream ecosystem. Longinoja’s nature trail with information boards was opened in late 2018, and thousands of people have already visited the stream nature trail. Information on Longinoja Brook is easily available on a website and in social media. Longinoja has also been able to get lots of media attention.
The Finnish Biodiversity Award was given out now for the seventh time. This time the competition attracted twenty-one high-level proposals. Two years ago, the award went to the Wolf Ambassadors of the Finnish Nature League – Luonto-Liitto for dispelling the fear of wolves among children and youngsters by disseminating science-based information.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the oldest and largest environmental organisation and network in the world. The Finnish IUCN member organisations include the Finnish Government (represented by the Ministry of the Environment), the Finnish Association of Nature Conservation, WWF Finland, the Finnish Society for Nature and Environment (Natur och Miljö), BirdLife Finland, the Finnish Wildlife Agency and the Helsinki Zoo. Next to these members, the IUCN National Committee of Finland also includes the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Finnish Environment Institute and Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland. A total of over 60 Finns volunteer in IUCN Commission work.
More information:
Senior Ministerial Adviser Marina von Weissenberg, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 50 307 0806, firstname.lastname@ym.fi
Senior Advisor Liisa Nikula, IUCN National Committee of Finland, tel. +358 40 528 8467, firstname.lastname@metsa.fi
Perseverance in the voluntary restoration of the urban brook of Longinoja in the Malmi suburb of Helsinki won the Finnish Biodiversity Award 2017-2018. The winner was chosen by the National Committee of Finland of IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature. The award was given out in Helsinki on 25 February 2019 by Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen.
NordenBladet – An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), sometimes referred to as polar lights, northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in the Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in the high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic).
Auroras are produced when the magnetosphere is sufficiently disturbed by the solar wind that the trajectories of charged particles in both solar wind and magnetospheric plasma, mainly in the form of electrons and protons, precipitate them into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere) due to Earth’s magnetic field, where their energy is lost.
The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emits light of varying color and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles. Precipitating protons generally produce optical emissions as incident hydrogen atoms after gaining electrons from the atmosphere. Proton auroras are usually observed at lower latitudes.
Etymology
The word “aurora” comes from the Latin word for “dawn, morning light”, since auroras were formerly thought to be the first light of dawn.
Occurrence of terrestrial auroras
Most auroras occur in a band known as the “auroral zone”, which is typically 3° to 6° wide in latitude and between 10° and 20° from the geomagnetic poles at all local times (or longitudes), most clearly seen at night against a dark sky. A region that currently displays an aurora is called the “auroral oval”, a band displaced towards the night side of the Earth. Early evidence for a geomagnetic connection comes from the statistics of auroral observations. Elias Loomis (1860), and later Hermann Fritz (1881) and S. Tromholt (1882) in more detail, established that the aurora appeared mainly in the auroral zone. Day-to-day positions of the auroral ovals are posted on the Internet.
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis or the northern lights. The former term was coined by Galileo in 1619, from the Roman goddess of the dawn and the Greek name for the north wind. The southern counterpart, the aurora australis or the southern lights, has features almost identical to the aurora borealis and changes simultaneously with changes in the northern auroral zone. The Aurora Australis is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia.
A geomagnetic storm causes the auroral ovals (north and south) to expand, and bring the aurora to lower latitudes. The instantaneous distribution of auroras (“auroral oval”) is slightly different, being centered about 3–5° nightward of the magnetic pole, so that auroral arcs reach furthest toward the equator when the magnetic pole in question is in between the observer and the Sun. The aurora can be seen best at this time, which is called magnetic midnight.
Auroras seen within the auroral oval may be directly overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the poleward horizon as a greenish glow, or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction. Auroras also occur pole ward of the auroral zone as either diffuse patches or arcs, which can be sub visual.
Auroras are occasionally seen in latitudes below the auroral zone, when a geomagnetic storm temporarily enlarges the auroral oval. Large geomagnetic storms are most common during the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle or during the three years after the peak. An aurora may appear overhead as a “corona” of rays, radiating from a distant and apparent central location, which results from perspective. An electron spirals (gyrates) about a field line at an angle that is determined by its velocity vectors, parallel and perpendicular, respectively, to the local geomagnetic field vector B. This angle is known as the “pitch angle” of the particle. The distance, or radius, of the electron from the field line at any time is known as its Larmor radius. The pitch angle increases as the electron travels to a region of greater field strength nearer to the atmosphere. Thus, it is possible for some particles to return, or mirror, if the angle becomes 90° before entering the atmosphere to collide with the denser molecules there. Other particles that do not mirror enter the atmosphere and contribute to the auroral display over a range of altitudes. Other types of auroras have been observed from space, e.g.”poleward arcs” stretching sunward across the polar cap, the related “theta aurora”, and “dayside arcs” near noon. These are relatively infrequent and poorly understood. Other interesting effects occur such as flickering aurora, “black aurora” and subvisual red arcs. In addition to all these, a weak glow (often deep red) observed around the two polar cusps, the field lines separating the ones that close through the Earth from those that are swept into the tail and close remotely.
Aurora borealis. Each appearance of the northern lights is unique. Often you see three green bands across the night sky. Or the lights come as flickering curtains or rolling smoke. The color is a luminous green, often with a hint of pink along the edge, and occasionally with a deep violet centre. If there is a lot of activity up there, the northern lights explode for a minute or two in a corona. (Photos: NordenBladet)
The science behind the northern lights
What exactly is the northern lights? It is the sun that lies behind the formation of the auroras.During large solar explosions and flares, huge quantities of particles are thrown out ofthe sun and into deep space. When the particles meet the Earth’s magnetic shield, they areled towards a circle around the magnetic North Pole, where they interact with the upper layers of the atmosphere. The energy which is then released is the northern lights. All this happens approximately 100 kilometres above our heads.
Living legend
Perhaps not so surprisingly, the northern lights’ spectacle has given rise to as many legends as there have been people watching. Symbols linked to the northern lights are found on the Sami shamanistic drum. The phenomenon has several different names in Sami. It is, for instance, known as Guovssahas, which means “the light which can be heard”. The northern lights were traditionally associated with sound by the Sami, the indigenous people of Norway. And during the Viking Age (793–1066 AD), the northern lights were said to be the armour of the Valkyrie warrior virgins, shedding a strange flickering light.
Be patient
When dreaming about seeing the northern lights, you must remember that you are at the complete mercy of nature. The northern lights love to play hide and seek. Observing the Aurora borealis is often a tug of war between your patience and the aurora itself. Stay in the northern lights area at least a week, preferably two, and you will be rewarded – unless local weather suddenly decides to obstruct your view with clouds.
1. Do the Northern Lights really exist?
The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres.
2. What is the best time of year to see the northern lights?
In this period of time, no Northern Lights can be observed. In the most intense Northern Lights area (notably Alaska, Iceland, Northern Scandinavia and Yukon), the lights are observed from late August to mid April. However, from late September to late March, it is dark after 6pm, and one enjoys maximum chances.
3. Can you see northern lights with naked eyes?
The Aurora Borealis appears in a spectrum of colors. … Our naked eye can most easily see the green-yellow part of the spectrum where the sun emits most of its light. Green is the most common color observed but the Northern Lights can also appear white-gray.
4. Are the Northern Lights dangerous?
The Northern Lights occur so high up in the atmosphere that they don’t pose any threat to people watching them from the ground. The aurora itself is not harmful to humans but the electrically charged particles produced could have some potentially negative effects to infrastructure and technology.
5. Do the Northern Lights give off radiation?
“Northern Lights appear when high energy particles from the sun collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, causing them to emit light. … And no, the Northern Lights themselves are no source of radiation but a manifestation of what is happening all the time (the sun emits energy).
6. Can you see northern lights if cloudy?
The best conditions for seeing the Northern Lights include a few key factors: Mainly dark skies without any clouds. And, usually, the less light pollution in the sky, the better. … While it’s true that a full moon can dim the Lights a bit, it certainly doesn’t negate your chances of seeing them.
7. How often do the northern lights occur?
April to August. To see the Northern Lights you need dark skies and from early-April until late-August, the Aurora may be blazing across the Arctic firmament but it is visible only to scientific equipment, as the skies are just too light for the human eye to see the show.
8. When can I see northern lights in Norway? Can northern lights be seen in Norway?
The northern lights are therefore always present. Historically, the chances of seeing the northern lights are best viewed in Northern Norway between October and March, because the polar night makes them easier to see. The northern lights are visible in a belt around the magnetic North Pole.
9. Where is the best place to see northern lights Norway?
Tromsø Tromso is “the capital of the Arctic”, and it’s location 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle makes it one of the best places on earth to observe the northern lights. This is the largest city in Northern Norway, and operates as a hub for Safaris and nightly visits to northern light camps.
10. What month is best to see the northern lights in Norway?
The weather in November, December and January can be brutal, so a lot of people say that the best months to see the Northern Lights in Norway are late September, October, February, and March.
11. Can you see Northern Lights from Oslo?
Of course, if the conditions are right, there’s nothing to stop you catching the lights well outside that area. It’s not unheard of to see them as far north as Svalbard or as far south as Oslo – but realistically, the chances of you seeing green skies over the Norwegian capital are very low indeed.
12. Can you see the Northern Lights from the Norwegian fjords?
The Northern Lights are visible between October and March when the sky is clear, depending on the Northern Lights activity. The best place to see the Northern Lights is in the Northern, Arctic parts of Norway.
13. Can you see Northern Lights from Reykjavik?
Can You See The Northern Lights in Reykjavik? … You may be able to see the Northern Lights in the city but a few criteria would have to be met. You will need darkness and clear skies and northern light activity, all three of which only appear together mostly during the winter months.
14. Do the Northern Lights happen every night?
The Northern Lights are unpredictable. In order to see the Northern Lights, you need a dark, clear night. There also needs to be solar flares on the sun or solar wind; the Aurora Borealis happens when particles from the sun enter Earth’s atmosphere and collide violently with gas atoms.
15. Is it a good night to see the northern lights?
The Best Time of Day. First and foremost, to see the Northern Lights, the skies must be dark. Once darkness falls, the Aurora can be visible at any time of day and we have seen them as early as 4pm and as late as 6am (that was quite a night!).
16. What is the auroral oval?
When we look up and see the Northern Lights, we are only seeing a tiny section of a huge auroral oval. The geomagnetic field surrounds the Earth and extends into space as the magnetosphere, and the Geomagnetic Pole is the centre of the region around which the Northern Lights can be seen.
17. What is the auroral zone?
The auroral zone is a ring of light emission created by the precipitation of particles in the atmosphere and centred around the magnetic pole. The cusp and boundary layers on the dayside, and the plasma sheet and plasma sheet boundary layer on the nightside are the sources of these precipitations.
18. Why is it called aurora borealis?
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis or the northern lights. The former term was coined by Galileo in 1619, from the Roman goddess of the dawn and the Greek name for the north wind. … The aurora can be seen best at this time, which is called magnetic midnight.
NordenBladet —At their meeting in Helsinki on Friday 25 January, the Prime Ministers and ministers responsible for climate issues of the Nordic countries decided to speed up their climate actions. The Nordic countries aim to follow the 1.5 Degree Report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC in October even more closely when deciding on their policies. To tackle the climate crisis, the countries will raise the level of their climate ambition by 2020 and aim to achieve carbon neutrality sooner than other countries.
”We want to show Nordic leadership and set an example. The Nordic countries are taking the IPCC’s 1.5 Degree Report very seriously, and we will also base our policies on this”, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä says.
According to the joint declaration given by the countries, cooperation will be increased in disseminating Nordic emissions abatement solutions, developing of technologies such as those for carbon capture and storage (CCS), curbing emissions in the transport sector, and maintaining and enhancing carbon sinks. The countries will also enhance their joint climate diplomacy and look for means to facilitate climate-friendly consumer choices.
“Together we are more than a sum of our parts. This is equally true with respect to making an impact on international forums and in developing and disseminating technology solutions. We have the expertise that we can – and are obliged to – offer even more effectively to be used by the rest of the world”, says Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen.
The Nordic ministers were invited to Helsinki by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen. The progress of the measures included in the Declaration and the follow-up procedures will be discussed at the Nordic climate ministers’ meeting in October 2019.
Inquiries:
Jani Raappana, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 306
Taru Savolainen, Special Adviser to the Minister of the Environment, tel. +358 40 535 8622
Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 40 537 0733
Riikka Lamminmäki, Communications Specialist, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 29 525 0343
Johanna Kaprio, Chief Communications Specialist, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 50 412 7506
At their meeting in Helsinki on Friday 25 January, the Prime Ministers and ministers responsible for climate issues of the Nordic countries decided to speed up their climate actions. The Nordic countries aim to follow the 1.5 Degree Report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC in October even more closely when deciding on their policies.
NordenBladet – Having had our breakfast in Kajaani (read HERE) we started off towards Kuopio. To my mind, travelling by car is pure luxury – you are not bound by time limits, the cars will carry all your belongings, you can stop wherever you please, etc. Extremely comfortable and maintains the privacy.. You need not be seated next to a stranger like on the airbus, wait in the airport check-in line, etc.
From Kajaani through Sukeva, Soinlahti, Iisalmi, Peltosalmi, Kirma, Nerkoo, Lapinlahti, Mäntylahti, Alapitkä, Pöljä, Aappola, Siilinjärvi and Sorsasalo it is 170 km vi E63 road to Kuopio (ca 2 hours driving).
With its 118 434 inhabitants Kuopio is today the ninth biggest town in Finland. The Swedish lord and governer Per Brahe the Younger founded Kuopio town in the year 1653, yet officially Kuopio was recognized as a town from November 1775 on when the Swedish king Gustav III insisted on recognizing Kuopio as a town. Almost a quarter of the territory of Kuopio is covered by water bodies and half is covered by forest – thus the overall impression is very beautiful. I really like nature! Kuopio also enjoys having a lovely old town (a nice market place, an interesting market and a historical city hall). We spent two days with children in Kuopio. I had booked Sokos Puijonsarvi for two nights, but the children wanted so much to visit the SPA (we hadn’t visited a SPA already for a while… haha) and so I cancelled one reservation and we went to Rauhalahti SPA for one night. Kids were clapping their hands from joy and we did have a very pleasant evening.
On the second day we went shopping in Kuopio city center (I bought a short coat, a jacket, two cardigans and a new travel case), we were looking around to find new business partners for the cosmetics brand Elisheva & Shoshana (currently we are negotiating with a city center boutique… so probably soon one can purchase E&S handmade cosmetics products also from Kuopio!), then I also met an old friend of mine and in the evening we took photos with Estella Elisheva in Puijonsarvi Hotel for OHMYGOSSIP Teen in Ohmygossip Couture tank tops. I hope to upload the gallery soon enough.
There are various sightseeings in Kuopio, so it will depend on what one wishes to see. The best known sightseeings are for example the 75m high Puijo Tower with its rotating restaurant that accommodates 100 guests, designed by the architect Seppo Ruotsalainen (Puijontie 135, 70300) and Kuopio Art Museum (Kuopion taidesmuseo – Kauppakatu 35, 70100). We were already rather fed up with new information and all the sightseeings, so we simply enjoyed our vacation. It would have been great to visit Joensuu that is located east from Kuopio and Ilomantsi that is quite close to the Russian border, but we kind od started missing home and thus decided not to expand our travel route any further. We had covered 3000 kilometres already! In the next around-Finland blog already new towns and new cool experiences!
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NordenBladet – Kajaani in Central Finland is the centre and capital city of Kainuu area. The town with 37039 inhabitants was founded in the 17th century when the industry and trade of tar produced from pine trees started to flourish. The town was founded in the year 1651 by the Swedish attorney general Per Brahe. In later days the town’s economy has been run by timber and paper industry, until the Kajaani paper factory that had been working from 1907-2008 was closed down. Kajaani has reached the headlines with the oil catastrophe, namely in 2012 there was an extensive oil pollution and 110 000 litres of oil poured into the river and drifted to Oulujärvi.
Kajaani is actually a junction for trade roads and with an interesting location, surrounded by hundreds of little lakes. For hikers, cyclists and canooers this is a pleasant spot to go in for sports. The lovely little city centre with the shops and the town hall that was built in 1831 both contribute to the coxy feeling.
We spent in Kajaani one day and one night. We were in the most expensive hotel of the neighborhood, yet the night was a nightmare. People were shouting in the hotel hallways until late at night, dogs were barking and the insect repellent that had been sprayed to the hotel wardrobes, was breathtaking. Hadn’t it been a perfectly wonderful and friendly reception-lady earlier on welcoming us and checking us in the hotel, we would probably have decided to go somewher else. We were thinking to ourselves, whether the hotel star-standards that have been awarded still hold after a few years and wheather there is someone in charge of maintaining the initial standards?! The hotel facade and the reception floor were wonderful and freshly renovated, yet the hotel rooms were as if from another era. However, the breakfast in the hotel was very-very delightful (among the best during the entire journey)! For example cold salmon – my favourite! Yummmm… For children there was a large selection of various food that they could serve in Moomin dishes. Ahh, how I like the Moomins. Such a nice and friendly family, and the entire Moomin-world image is so friendly and nice. By the way, Ivanka Shoshana affectionately calls me Muuminmamma, she herself is Snork Maiden and Estella Elisheva is Little My – this is our game. A few years ago we visited the Moomin world in Naantali and the surroundings of Turku – Väsk island, the Finnish president’s summer residence in Kultaranta, etc. I posted many blogs about that (see HERE) 🙂
But what then is there to do in Kajaani? When you search online for Kajaani sightseeings then the list is rather short. The more interesting tourist magnets-sightseeings that have been brought out are Kajaani town hall, Kajaani and Paltaniemi church, the ruins of Kajaani stronghold (Linnankatu 27, Kajaani 87100), Kajaani art museum (Linnankatu 14, 87100), and Kajaani town theatre (Kauppakatu 14, 87100 Kajaani), the Pietari Brahen monument and Hoyrylaiva Kouta (address: Kalkkisillantie 4, Kajaani 87200), the ship that takes tours on Oulujärvi. Urho Kekkonen who during the years 1956-1982 was the Finnish president, was born in Lepikko farm Pielavesi village where at the age of 11 he moved to Kajaani. In the kajaani park that is located between Koivukoskenkatu and Kirkkokatu a monument has been erected in his honour. In the same park (on the address Väinämöisenkatu 18, 87100 Kajaani) there is also the “Isänmaan puolesta” memorial.
Having driven through all of western Finland and northern Finland this way and that way, one could say that central Finland and western Finland have a very different wealth standard and architecture. As it often is, the western side tends to be wealthier and the eastern side less well off. Many little towns in Finland have in a way frozen, the re is little of the Scandinavian welfare and wealth really in those places – like for example Puolanka and Pudasjärvi that have been described in the previous travel post (see HERE) and quite many other central and eastern towns in Finland, too. Also, it is rather strongly felt in Kajaani that the town would not suffer at all from a nice financial boost. In order to attract tourists in the town and keep the interested, I guess it would be necessary to promote the town far more. Certainly there are a lot more pearls in that region to be discovered. Overall, I am super overwhelmed about our road trip and I am already planning new jpurneys. It is possible to see so many places! At some point I would like to see the eastern side of Finland (Nurme surroundings, Joensuu region, Ilomantsi region, etc). Finland is a safe country and it is convenient to travel by car there. The next blog post will take us to Kuopio!
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NordenBladet – On the eighth day of our trip around Finland we headed from Rovaniemi (read the journey description HERE) towards Kajaani. Quite a long journey was ahead of us. Google distance measurer displayed ca 385km (4h 45min) when driving along E75 and E8. Since we were not in a hurry then we took our time and drove quietly, taking stops wherever we pleased.
From Rovaniemi to Kivitaipale, Narkaus, Ruonakoski, Portimo, Nuupas we drove towards Ranua. It was a small municipality in Lapland with less than 4000 inhabitants, 1.13 people per one square metre – very cool! I like it when people are not cramped together. The little municipality is divided into 21 small villages (Asmunti, Hosio, Impiö, Kelankylä, Kortteenperä, Kuha, Kuukasjärvi, Mauru, Nuupas, Petäjäjärvi, Pohjaslahti–Piittisjärvi, Portimo, Putkivaara, Raiskio, Rovastinaho, Saariharju, Saukkojärvi, Sääskilahti, Teerivaara, Telkkälä and Tolja). Ranua is known for its beautiful nature and large number of lakes – the little minicipality has as many as 569 of those! A source of popularity is also the Zoo of Ranua. It Europe’s northernmost zoo where one can see various arctic animals – for example the polar bear.
Further on our road took us from Ranua through Asmut, to Pudasjärvi. This is a small place, for some reason or other, at that moment is gave us a slightly depressive impression.
From Pudasjärvi we drove through Jatko, Hirvakoski, Ervasti and Auho Puolanka. Almost two hours of driving in complete abandonment… Perhaps a few cars passed us by during that time. A look to the right – there is forest, a look to the left – there is forest again. On the one hand this might be boring yet on the other hand it makes you happy. For once there are not factories and rubbish at every step where people have been. And in one place we also saw reindeer again, although I mentioned in the previous blog post that reindeer were not seen anymore. So now while reviewing the photos again I remembered that we still did see reindeer – these were tagged.
Puolanka (Puolango) is even less densely inhabited than Ranua municipality. In the 17 villages of Poulanka (Aittokylä, Auho, Joukokylä, Kivarinjärvi, Kotila, Kongasmäki, Leipivaara, Lylykylä, Naulaperä, Puokio, Puolanka, Rasinkylä, Suolijärvi, Vihajärvi, Väyrylä, Yli-Oterma, Törmänmäki) there are 2637 people according to the 31.08.2018 census, this would mean 1.07 people per one square kilometre. Like in Ranua, the municiplaity of Puolanka is only Finnish-speaking (as you may know, most of Finland is bilingual – the spoken languages are Finnish and Swedish. However, regardless of the latter fact you can hardly meet a genuine Finn in Finland. For some reason I had the idea that the countryside is untouched and not spoilt in that respect, that there are mainly Finns. But the streets are colourful in Helsinki as well as in Northenrn Finland. There are Iranians, Iraqi, Turks and people from other nationalities 50:50 with local people. The white Scandinavian porcelain skin is more and more rare, as well as the fair hair and blue eyes that used to be so common only 25 years ago. I guess the Nordic woman is alive only in folkrore and the epics a hundred years from now – provided there still remain people who value the culture. Nowadays everything has been mixed up. Even beside the two sexes, man and woman, there is the third gender. The social media has been praising robots, artificial intelligence, for many years already. Robot-influencers (i.e. @lilmiquela) have more followers than actual people. I am very curious about haw long it takes that people will say “now this is enough for me, I won’t go with the flow any more”. When do people start to appreciate reality?! Well, in some sense this is the society’s new reality. I guess VIP/Glamour versus Reality/Genuine have changed places and nowadays the actual things are luxurious products and everything that has been desirable and unattainable for years is now mass commodity.
But about Puolanka. Finland’s largest waterfall Hepoköngäs is located 16km from Puolanka centre, in the national park. There is plenty of beautiful, pure nature! An interesting fact about Puolanka is that Finland’s current Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, grew up there and spent his early days exactly there. This is a good example about a venturesome and ambitious person breaking through into big politics and business from this small place. I am glad that someone as high up the ladder has their roots in a small place and is aware of the life outside the capital city.
In Puolanka we briefly stopped for lunch. We stopped at the local Ester Restaurant (Ouluntie 4, 89200 Puolanka). The food was great and service was quick. We ordered a pizza (9.50), chicken salad (16.90), French fries (5.50), a jug of water (1.-) and coffee ( 1.60).
Now we were already looking forward to reaching our destination – Kajaani. There were a little less than 100km driving. We rolled through Leipivaara, Paltamo and Jormua to Kajaani where we parked the car and checked in to the hotel. I will write about Kajaani already in the next blog!
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NordenBladet – It was a pity to leave Levi, since it had been just wonderful there (read the blog overview HERE and general information what one can do in Levi HERE), however, we were on a road trip around Finland and it was time to move on. New places and new events were awaiting us! Today the trip to Rovaniemi where we planned to stay for two nights was ahead.
It is ca 2 hours driving from Levi to Rovaniemi (about 150km). I had a plan to drive through Särestöniemi museum that was conveniently on the way (Särestöntie 880 99119 Kaukonen), but apparently the GPS in the car was out of order since it was taking us through the wood to absolute wasteland… At some point when it was saying “you will reach destination after 800m” I just turned over as I was afraid to get stuck. The road from Kittilä to Rovaniemi was a little less awsome than the impressions from Kolari-Levi road, but the nature was there and the reindeer at the sides of the road were there, too. For me, the greatest impression from Lapland were the reindeer – they are just so wonderful! Together with the Nordic dark thick forests they create for me the mystic air that I went to find. Lapland is sooo lovable! I mostly like animals when they are freely in the nature – this is why I prefer to take children and go by ourselves into the nature rather than visit moose and husk farms where the animals are exhibited to tourists and used for riding. While the urban folk, constantly in a hurry, literally cannot see them any other way – then it is still good to have them, otherwise people would alienate from animals and from the nature completely.
The usual two-hour drive again took us about five-six hours while every now and then we stopped to enjoy the beautiful nature, see the reindeer, take photos and immediately share them on Instagram / Snapcat with our followers. Here and there we digressed to see the little villages on the sides of the road (Kaukonen, Lohiniva, Molkojoki, Meltaus, Patokoski, Marraskoski, Tapionkylä, Sinettä). Kittilä-Rovaniemi road number 79 goes almost all the way along the side of the longest river in Finland – the Ounasjoki River. Ounasjoki is about 299,6 km long (186,2 miles).
By lunchtime we arrived at Rovaniemi and decided to start with the greatest attraction here in Rovaniemi – the coolest sightseeing – Santa Claus. While we actually mixed things up then hereby I will also inform you that Santa Park (Tarvantie 1, 96930 Rovaniemi) and Santa Claus Holiday Village (Tähtikuja 2 96930 Rovaniemi – ca 8 km from Rovaniemi Centre) are two different destinations, however they are located quite close to one another (about a couple of kilometres apart). The first one was still closed when we arrived in Rovaniemi in October during our trip to Finland (it is open from November on). Santa Claus Holiday Village is a small village with cafes, a large souvenir shop and a possibility to take photos with Santa Claus in the post office for a reasonable amount of money. In our family we celebrate both Hanukka and Christmas – however the last holiday is not related to religion in our celebrations. There are the gnomes – funny little wizards, and Santa Claus, with his long white beard, who comes from Lapland, loves children and brings them presents. For us this is a fictional character, a fictional hero like the Pokus in children’s books (living in Southern Estonia), The Puppy-Girl Lotte (living in Pärnu) or the Moomins (living in Naantali, Finland).
The children (especially Ivanka Shoshana) were waiting with excitement to see Santa, yet ultimately such reserved reception by the children was unexpected. Quite honestly, I myself was rather disappointed. This is largely commerce – not even well-organised and convincinly sweet commerce, but rather somewhat hasty commerce… Along a quite interesting hallway we made it to Santa who was wearing an artificial beard and a cell phone in his hands (that one however he hid quickly). Even before children could have a look at Santa there were signed all over the place that you can take photos with Santa for such and such sums of money. Ahh.. who could be the marketing manager of that place? 😀
Rovaniemi has invested millions into promoting the Santa-story, and therefore it all is still worth seeing. Yet there is a difference between mere commerce and the real feeling, you still expect something for the soul… The story is actually fine, but the telling of the story could be a lot more magical and mystical! I think. From the positive side: the village cafes offer a lot of delicious food, you can purchase various local souvenirs and kill a couple of hours in quite a pleasant way – thus, once you are already there then it is definitely worthwhile paying a visit. Time spent with children and with the family is always wonderful for me and actually ther eare not too many places to see for a family event.
Having seen Santa, we checked in to our hotel — we felt that the “backbone” of our journey had been broken. In our hearts we knew that with great probability the most exciting part of our trip has in Lapland and in Finland overall been seen by this moment, yet rushing ahead of the event I can tell you that it wasn’t so. An abundance of surprises, excitement and discoveries were awaiting us on our trip around Finland! However, we didn’t see reindeer on the side of the road anymore and the hope to see northern lights/aurora borealis dimmed with every kilometre that took us towards Southern Finland.
I had to do some work in the evening to prepare for the next day’s mini-meeting with NordenBladet Southern Finnish team. Ivanka Shoshana (10) started to play with her toys and Estella Elisheva (12) went for a walk in the town on her own. I allowed her to go, provided she stays near the hotel. So she left, the cell phone, two GPS-transmitters and my bank card in the purse. I let her go alone but lectured lengthily about all possible dangers and instisted that she calls every now and then. Estella went to a restaurant to eat a vegan salad and on her way back on my friendly request brought a hamburger for me and Ivanka. Although I had imagined that Rovaniemi would be a lot smaller, it was actually a rather large town – with factories, block houses, broad roads. It was a big city, but the city centre however was really compact – right around the corner from the hotel there were several restaurants and department stores. All the larger and best known good hotelsand reatsaurants were close at hand, not to say they were tightly placed next to each other. We spent two days and two night in Rovaniemi and this time frame was filled with pleasant events.
The next morning we woke up early. The breakfast in the hotel was delightful, as well as the interior design, however, the bed linen turned out to cause allergy to me and Estella. At home I always wash the bed linen with a delicate detergent and rinse so that the linen would finally be completely detergent/chemical free. A night or two in the hotel would also do, but living a life where you travel from one hotel to another like it is usual on a longer journey – this will soon reflect on the skin. I even thought of taking my own bed linen with me nest time I travel. 🙂
I asked the children wheather they would like to see Santa once more, but they didn’t. Then we decided to take a tour in the town and drive around in Rovaniemi. During lunch I had two brief meetings in Rovaniemi – one of them with NordenBladet Northen-Finnish team members and the other one was related with the brand Elisheva & Shoshana. The meetings held abroad always leave an unforgettable impression on me – sometimes I even wish to pinch myself to believe it. To have business network across Scandinavia is a dream come true. It is funny how used to this I am already – the goals set a few years earlier are the reality today. Actualy I am obliged to praise myself, take some time off schedule and enjoy/celebrate!
As in Levi, also in Rovaniemi entrepreneurs organise safaris with husks and reindeer for tourists, there are activities suitable for every age group. The science park and museum in Rovaniemi, Arktikum Science Museum (Pohjoisranta 4, 96200 Rovaniemi), holds interesting events all year round – lectures, market day, even a film festival.
There would have been a lot more to discover in Rovaniemi, I had also two meetings arranged with local representatives on Lapland media, however the hands of the clock are not made from rubber. As in Tornio (read the travel blog HERE), I slightly conflicted my schedule and thus the visit to Daily Finland editorial and the meeting with the editor-in-chief Mister O.H.Ruhin and the plan to schedule a meeting also with the editor-in-chief of Lapin Kansa, A. Kokkonen, due to time restictions, were postponed for the time being. Two days in Rovaniemi passed quickly and the next destination on our journey was Kajaani. About that already in the next blog!
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NordenBladet – Levi is a fell located in Finnish Lapland, and the largest ski resort in Finland, based on the number of visitors. Lovely place to visit with friends or with familyt. The resort is located in Kittilä municipality and is served by Kittilä Airport and Kolari railway station. At a latitude of 67.8° north, it is located approximately 170 km (110 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. Amazing scenery, great skiing pistes, excellent services and good connections make Levi one of Finland’s most interesting tourism destinations!
First, I´ll answer the 12 most common questions about Levi, Lapland
Where is Levi Finland?
Levi is a fell located in Finnish Lapland, and the largest ski resort in Finland. The resort is located in Kittilä municipality and is served by Kittilä Airport and Kolari railway station. At a latitude of 67.8° north, it is located approximately 170 km (110 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.
How do I get to Levi?
Despite its location in the far north, Levi is easily reachable, as the Kittilä airport is located about 17 km and the Kolari railway station about 85 km away from Levi. By car or bus, the distance to the city of Rovaniemi is 170 km and the city of Oulu is 380 km. Visiting Levi also gives you a great opportunity to visit the close-by fells Ylläs (65 km) and Pallas (60 km) in the Finnish Lapland.
To Levi it is better to fly via Helsinki (1h30min) or Stockholm (1h40min) to Kittila a/p. and there is shuttle bus from the airport to Levi takes 15 min. You can also take a sleeper train from Helsinki to Kolari (80 km away from Levi) or to Rovaniemi (with this trains you can take your car as well).
What airport is closest to Lapland Finland?
Rovaniemi is the most popular airport (travelers interested in visiting Santa Claus’s village should fly here), being Ivalo the northest one. Rovaniemi serves as the entrance to all Lapland, Northwest Russia, Northern Sweden and Norway. It is not only serviced by Finnair but also by Norwegian and AirBaltic.
Who flies to Kittila Airport (IATA: KTT, ICAO: EFKT)?
Jet2, Flybe, Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways offer seasonal charter flights during the winter direct to Kittilä airport (Finnish: Kittilän lentoasema) from a range of UK airports. Taxis are available outside the airport during scheduled arrival times, and are operated by the local taxi company Kittilän ja Levin taksi.
How many airports are there in Lapland?
Each of the airports has its own appeal and target audience: Rovaniemi (309,731 passengers in 2009): Father Christmas’s airport on the Arctic Circle, in the capital of Lapland. Kittila (245,292): Airport in the hub of tourist centres. Ivalo (130,592): The airport for wilderness and trekking.
Is Levi Finland in the Arctic Circle?
Levi, Finland. Levi is a fell located in Finnish Lapland, and the largest ski resort in Finland. The resort is located in Kittilä municipality and is served by Kittilä Airport and Kolari railway station. At a latitude of 67.8° north, it is located approximately 170 km (110 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.
Can you see Aurora Borealis in Finland?
In northern Lapland the lights shine about every other clear night between September and March. In southern Finland they are visible on about 10-20 nights a year. Look to the stars. If you notice that the night sky is clear and starry, your chances of seeing the northern lights are good.
How many hours of daylight does Lapland?
In the south of the country daylight in December lasts only for 6 hours. In northern Lapland a period of darkness prevails at that time, with the sun not rising above the horizon at all.
How cold is Lapland?
Then slowly the temperatures will go down until they reach to -20 C in December. The coldest months are January and February. Then it is common to get under -30 C for at least a few days to weeks. In March the sun will be strong so then it is not likely it will get under -15 C. The frost will slowly disappear in April.
What is the weather look like in Levi? The skiing season in Levi usually lasts from October until May. In the wintertime, it is recommended to pack a large amount of warm clothes with you, as in January-February, the average temperature drops to -14 degrees, and degrees as low as -30 can occur.
Especially during the spring season Levi provides excellent conditions for cross-country and downhill skiing since the average temperature in March is about -8.4 degrees and in April-May one can already enjoy warm weather in sunny slopes. During the hottest time of summer, in July, Levi’s average temperature rises to 14.4 degrees, making Levi an interesting summer destination as well.
Levi average monthly temperatures (source: National Climatic Data Centre):
Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Av. temperat. °C -14,0 -13,1 -8,4 -2,0 4,8 11,4 14,4 11,5 5,9 -0,5 -7,2 -11,6
Does Lapland have snow all year round?
The Lapland region has a subarctic to continental climate characterized by mild summers and cold, snowy winters. … The amount and duration of snowfall also varies by location, but the average number of days with snow is around 175 – 225 days per year between mid-October and mid-May.
What is the best time to visit Finland?
It depends on what you’d like to experience: for plenty of snow and winter activities, December to March is the best time. For springtime sun and the revival of nature after the winter, April to May is the period. For long and warm summer days and plenty of events, opt for June, July and August.
What to Do at Levi? – Levi Activities Here are the best things to do in Levi, Finland
Every year many interesting events take place in Levi, including the Alpine World Cup, which attracts a large audience from around the world. Over the years, the prestigious race has gained great popularity among both athletes and the general public. Levi’s winter attractions – the glamour of Lapland, polar nights, frost and reindeer – have guaranteed it a spot on the international competition calendar. Levi also organizes many other sports events where athletes can challenge themselves in biking, golf, trail running and other sports activities.
1.Northern Lights tours and safaris.
Experience the magical Northern Lights in the Lappish sky. The Aurora is an unpredictable, natural event, which occurs all year round. Come on a night safari or stand on an open space to witness these phenomena. The northern location of Levi guarantees great opportunities to see Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, during the trip. In order to make the experience as memorable as possible, it is worthwhile to take part in an organized Northern Lights tour which lets you admire the dancing lights in amid incredible landscapes. Find the tour organiser here.
2. Skiing, Downhill skiing and snowboarding.
The largest ski resort in Finland offers skiers and snowboarders a total of 43 skiing pistes, 28 lifts and, of course, extensive after ski options in the spectacular fell landscape. To the delight of skiing fans, Levi has a total of 230 km maintained ski tracks, including sections with skiing on ice as well as on the pistes of the fells. The 28 km long illuminated trails offer a chance to ski from early morning to late at night – even during polar nights!
Thanks to the snow machines (view pictures which I took in October), the Levi slopes remain in good condition throughout the season. In total, Levi has 28 lifts, two chair lifts, two gondola lifts and three carpet lifts for beginners. Levi is a great destination also for families, as the little ones can ski for free in Levi’s 10 children’s ski slopes. Levi has much to offer for both beginners and experienced skiers, as there are as many as 43 skiing slopes at the resort, ranging from easier runs to steep black pistes. The peak of the Levitunturi fell is 531 meters high; the highest altitude difference is 325 meters and the longest slope is 2.5 km. If you are looking for speedy activities, head to the northeastern pistes or the Levi Black piste, both ensuring sufficient challenge even for the world’s top skiers. Since Levi offers plenty of pistes across the fells, the long lift queues are rare. The touring Levi Ski Bus offers rides between the slopes, the Levi Center and the largest resorts around the fell.
The Levi Skiing Track Map gives a good overview of the 230 km long track network. With the help of the map, you can find the best skiing tracks in Levi’s spectacular scenery. The Levi Slope Map provides information about the pistes, lifts and services in the Levi Ski Resort. The map helps you navigate across the fells and find the best slopes for your taste.
3. Snowmobiling and Icekarting.
The snowmobile is the fastest means of transport through the masses of snow in the fell area of Lapland. If snowmobiling is not already familiar, beginners are offered courses in learning the basics of driving a snowmobile. With adequate skills it is possible to explore the beautiful nature of Lapland through speedy activities. Icekarting is for the fans of speed and driven with go-karts equipped with studded tires. The activity that is suitable for all ages lets you challenge yourself or compete against other drivers on the ice-track of a frozen lake.
4. Enjoy one of the best Spa´s in Finland – Levi Hotel SPA Levi Hotel Spa (Levitunturi) is the resort’s flagship property in a peaceful yet convenient location 300m from the ski lifts and Levi village center. A high standard of hotel coupled with excellent spa and recreation facilities makes it a great choice for families and couples alike. Guests have complimentary use of the fabulous ‘Spa Water World’. Levin’s high-quality spa (Levintie 1590, 99130 Sirkka, Finland) is known for its versatility, offering a choice of enjoying the atmosphere in the whirlpools, spending time in the outdoor pools or swim laps in the fitness pool. In addition to traditional saunas, the spa offers relaxation in steam rooms and specialty saunas available in the pool section.
5. Visits to husky- and reindeer farms and Reindeer and husky safaris. Near Levi you can see wild but friendly reindeer every morning and night fall. It is sooooo magical – I think one of the most amazing things in Levi! Read my blog about visiting Levi with children here. So, when in Levi, be sure to take the time to visit a husky- or reindeer farm, where you can admire the lives of the Arctic Siberian huskies and genuine Lapland reindeer. At many farms it is also possible to feed the animals, give lassoing reindeer a try and sample traditional Lappish reindeer dishes. In addition to farm visits, Levi offers participation in reindeer safaris or driving husky sleds. Dog sledding is a great winter activity offering unforgettable experiences also for larger groups.
? Wolverine Fell Wilderness and Nature (Kätkäjärventie 407, 99130 Kittilä)
The company Wolverine Fell Wilderness and Nature (Kätkätunturin Erä ja Luonto) was established in the year 2000. It offers programme services all year round and also includes reindeer husbandry.
Homepage: https://reindeerandfishing.fi/
?? Lapland Safaris (Keskuskuja 2, 99130 Levi)
Would you like to ride a dogsled in the snow-covered wilds? Or go snowshoeing on a frozen lake and admire the Arctic night sky and the Northern Lights? They can help you experience the wonders of winter Lapland every day. Just choose a safari and they’ll do the rest.
Homepage: https://www.laplandsafaris.com/en/
? Levin Sammuntupa ja porotilapalvelut (Taalontie 160, 99130 Levi)
Go and experience a 19th century reindeer farm. Their café is open daily from 10 am – 4 pm. They also arrange reindeer safaris with their own reindeer.
Homepage: https://www.sammuntupa.fi
? Ounaskievari (Ounasjoentie 826, 99140 Köngäs)
They are located seven kilometers from Levi- Center, in Köngäs village. They have been working there for over 20 years and offer a variety of reindeer ride to our guests.
Homepage: http://www.ounaskievari.fi/
? Santa´s Cottage & Pet Farm (Purolantie 6E, 99130 Sirkka)
The only pet farm in Levi is open in November every day 11–15, providing guests experiences with animals. We are located just 2km from the center of Levi! In December we are open every day 11–17, and we also provide Santa Claus programmes. From Santa’s Pet Farm you find nice experiences: cool pets to see, snowy activities on the farmyard, Horse shoe hunting game and reindeer and pony rides!
Homepage: http://www.kompiainen.fi/
? Polar Lights Tours Oy (Muoniontie 955, 99130 Levi)
Enjoyable Husky safaris and memorable horse trecks! In their home yard you will find about one hundred Alaskan huskys, Siberian huskys and Alaksan malamutes our happy and energetic working sled dogs and eight original Finn horses. With these wonderful animals you will get to enjoy our nature all year on our safaris.
Homepage: https://polarlightstours.fi/
? Tundra Huskies Huskyfarm (Sokkaporantie 1, 99140 Köngäs)
Tundra Huskies Huskyfarm is the home of 70 Arctic Huskies. They offer Huskysafaris always the original way. At the Huskyfarm you will meet Arctic Siberian Huskies, Husky puppies, Wolfdog hybrids, and our own Reindeers which you can feed by hand.
Homepage: https://www.huskysafari.fi/
? Wingren s Dogsafaris (Sokkaporantie 44, 99140 Köngäs)
Wingrens Dogsafaris is located in Köngäs in the Northern part of Finland, 12 km from Levi, which is Finlands largest ski resort. There are about 50 sleddogs in the kennel.
Homepage: http://www.dogsafaris.fi/
6. Food experiences / Top Restaurants in Levi
The center of Levi is like a small town with shopping opportunities and a wide selection of tourism services ranging from spas to bowling alleys. Visitors also have a wide choice of restaurants where it is possible to taste reindeer meat and other local Lapland delicacies.
? The newest freshly renovated and most popular restaurant in Levi is Kekäle Bar & Grill (Levintie 1590, 99130 Kittilä)- very modern, beautiful and offers the world’s top food in the cosy milieu.
? Tuikku (Tuikuntie 11/ Tunturitie 421, 99130 Sirkka-Levi), a panoramic restaurant at the top of a fell, is very famous for its breathtaking scenery. Also Levi’s nightlife is lively, as the pubs and nightclubs along the promenade offer vacationers’ entertainment at the end of each day. Levi’s famous after-ski must not be forgotten, as it is, after all, considered the best in Finland.
There´s a number of small and lovely places to eat – Nili-Poro, Steakhouse – Pihvipirtti, Cafe Soma, Jangalla Restaurant, KingCrab House, Renna, Restaurant Aurora Sky, Kafet Cafe & Bakery, Restaurant Ammila, Levin Panimo & Pub, Restaurant Kiisa, Wanha Hullu Poro, Northern Cowboy, Stefan’s Steakhouse Levi and many others.
7. Visit an Ice Gallery (Akantie, 99130 Sirkka, Finland).
Being at Levi also provides a good opportunity to visit an ice-built hotel or a snow-molded restaurant. The ice gallery Luvattumaa, Lainio snow village and the snow restaurant Snow Dome are must-see venues for all Arctic culture lovers. Sheltered by the beautiful Lappish nature, Luvattumaa welcomes travellers to open their senses and experience the ice, the snow, the water, the scents and the flavours. During the winter season, snow castle the Levi Ice Gallery opens its doors for the public. Their River Spa is open throughout the year, as is the true heart of Luvattumaa – the Lappish hut restaurant.
8. Buy souvenirs There are many lovely little souvenir shops to buy Finnish hand made products. You can find nice knitted hats, wooden and porcelain dishes, Moomin series and many more. All kind of national cups, plates, key rings etc.
9. Go Hiking or just walk around center – there is so beautiful!
Levi offers both short hiking trips and long wilderness hikes, since in addition to the marked nature trails in the vicinity, hikers can venture all the way to the Pallas-Yllästunturi national park. The changing seasons each bring their own colour to hiking, and you can, for example, enjoy nightless night excursions during midsummer or be mesmerised by beautiful autumn colours.
10. Visit or stay at night in Igloos
Book a Glass Igloo excursion as part of your Winter Wonderland holiday to Levi. The glass igloos are an incredible example of engineering, opening up the beauty and majesty of Lapland’s night sky. The glass is made of a special-make of thermal glass that keeps the inside of the igloo toasty even when the temperature outside drops to a chilly -30c. Inside the glass igloo there is a small living and sleeping space.
Not sure what to do or where to go?! Visit Levi´s tourist information center (Myllyjoentie 2, 99130 LEVI)
When you need help or inspiration during your stay in Levi, Lapland, Levi Tourist Office is a good place to start. In addition to the places/activities outlined by me there are thousand things to do in Levi in winter time, in summer time and year-around – Ice fishing trips, Kick sledding tours, Snowshoeing tours, Icelandic horse trek, Saunas and ice baths, Rafting and paddling, Golf, Summer Toboggan run, Scenic lifts, Biking, Disc golf, Levi Adventure Park, Tennis, Mini Golf, The children’s traffic- and playground, Fishing and hunting, Gyms and fitness, Bowling, Ball sports, Climbing etc etc.
NordenBladet – Our grand road trip had already taken us quite far North and as I described in the previous post (read blog review HERE), the more up North, the more miraculous Finland gets. The road between Kolari-Kittilä was like a fairy-tale – there were reindeer on the sides of the road and even by the highway. Me and the kids would go Ah and Oh every kilometre that we passed. It was a very special feeling. Besides, there are quite few inhabitants there and also wild nature, which I like.
Since I didn’t dare to speed to avoid running over any reindeer, and since we also stopped at every possible stump to take pictures, then getting from Oulu via Kolari to Sirkka took us extremely long. Once we arrived it was already eight o’clock and I was quite tired from driving. Before starting the road trip I had done my homework well and had thoroughly calculated where to stay overnight in order to get the most out of our journey. In northern Finland in Sirkka the choice was Levi Hotel SPA (Levintie 1590, 99130 Sirkka, Finland) – while with children it is the most comfortable place to stay – good location, parking is free of charge, a quality hotel, luxury rooms, good standard of service, a selection of many good hotel restaurants, SPA and pool center, short distance by foot to everywhere (i.e. ski slopes, souvenir shops). Briefly, it was everything you could need in just one place. Our stay there was made especially pleasant by the fact that extra to our Superior-room an interconnected Junior-suite was also added, thus we had two separate bedrooms all in all, two separate bathrooms, a living room, a sauna section, two balconies and further amenities (three big flat screen TV-sets, safe deposit box, ironing board, an iron, clothes dryer, WiFi, slippers, dressing gowns, etc). For children there were gift baskets with handmade chocolate, lemonade and candies, also stuffed toys and in our room awaiting us there were complimentary invitations for three guests to the restaurant Kekäle (the newest and most popular top notch restaurant in Levi), as well as a welcome note from the hotel manager. On top of that, the hotel governor personally was there to meet and welcome us! I am so deeply moved to see that NordenBladet is so cordially and personally hosted – it gives a warm feeling! Thank you for the wonderful surprise and remembrance!
When we had got acquainted with all the rooms and additional space, we decided to visit the Levi SPA that was integrated with the hotel. Although the SPA and the hotel are technically in different buildings, one can enter the SPA from the hotel through a hallway without necessarily going outside. It is a pleasant large SPA and I liked that there were cool sliding tubes and yet they were not dangerous – either with too rapid water flow or the risk of falling into the water from too high. As a mother it made me feel much more at ease.
Now being a Finnish “SPA expert” I can say that to my mind it is the best SPA in Finland – if not top 1 then at least among top 3 for sure. Pleasant warm water, several different pools, saunas, two large sets of pools inside and also a set of pools outside where there is also a Jacuzzi. Besides, there is also the magnificent mountain view!
After going to the SPA I worked a while behind the blue screen, Ivanka Shoshana spread her toys in the living room and played with them, and Estella Elisheva was busy with our social media. We live-streamed in Instagram (@helenareetennet) the entire trip around Finland that took place in October-November and today it is possible to read about the journey online in four languages – in Estonian (NordenBladet.ee), in English (NordenBladet.com), in Finnish (Ohmygossip.fi) and in Swedish (Ohmygossip.se). In the travel posts I describe where exactly we travelled and I share useful information and interesting facts about various destinations in Finland – fervent tourism objects, undiscovered pearls, premium hotels, top notch retaurants, SPA-s, adventure parks, zoos, shops, department stores, historical places, holiday resorts, etc. Altogether, a lot of interesting information! The reader of NordenBladet is a 45+ wealthy Scandinavian woman with children and in our portals daily tens of thousands of search events take place regarding travel destinations and tourism. NordenBladet has become the largest media edition in Scandinavia offering information, articles and weblinks about the Northern countries.
Located 17 km from Kittilä center and the airport, the holiday destination and active sports centre Levi has for more than four times been announced as the best ski resort in Finland, and indeed, it is a magical and beautiful place, perfect for spending the holiday with family. Bearing the badge of Scandinavian safety and comfort, the beauty of Nordic forests, the mystical aspect and the beauty of the nature, the care and cordial attitude specific to a smaller place. While many people visit Levi during the winter months – because nowhere else can you find so much snow and fierce skiing mountains as here – then I would actually venture to assert that it is no less an impression and experience that you get here visiting the place in spring-autumn as well as during the summer months. The wonderful forests-mountains and hiking tracks, cute log houses and peaceful holiday village, golf courts, reindeer and the Nordic air of mystery on every step – not to mention the Nordic lights that can best be seen exactly in this region! Despite being in the far North, in Lapland no less than top quality service awaits you, accompanied by the crop-of-the-cream restaurants, enormous SPA and, again, quality. By the way, not far from the place stems the lineage of the famous Lapland witch – Näkkälän noita, whose powers are well known around Scandinavia. According to folk wisdom the witch draws the powers and energy from the forests in Levi neighborhood.
Breakfast done, we decided to go and see the town. There is a lot to discover in Levi, I intend to post a separate story about it, yet I will add a brief outline piece here as well. For travellers with cars (like us) it is especially nice to discover Levi, since one can swiftly and smoothly drive through the entire neighborhood. Yet also the pedestrian-travellers’ outlook is not narrowed down too much, for example it is easy to reach any nearby destination on foot from Levi SPA Hotel. Levi Express Gondol can take you uphill to visit Samiland Exhibition – both the journey uphill as well as the exhibition itself amount to a full impression. Address Tunturitie 205, 99130 Levi. Levin Lapinkylä (Isotaalontie 285), 12km from Levi towards Rovaniemi is a fun village composed of igloos, and one can also see reindeer there. A popular place is Harjatie 2 (8,5km up North from Levi) Sky restaurant and Levi Igloo. During winter time in Akantie 180 (7km from Levi) the Levi Ice Gallery and Ice Restaurant of Levi are open.
We spent two wonderful days in Levi, and two even more delightful evenings. Each day we went to the SPA and got to know the town. It was so relaxing and great that we would have stayed even longer. The highlight of the second night was the dinner in Kekäle restaurant. Three courses of the world’s top food in the cosy milieu of the modern beautiful freshly renovated restaurant! Yammmmmm… The meals were absolutely delicious and were wonderfully served (see photos and videos also from Insta!). Children were overwhelmed about Levi, Estella Elisheva even declared that she is determined to become rich as a grown-up, since rich folks have such great life. Travelling and getting to know new great places is really cool, especially when you can take time to enjoy it. The one who can notice and be glad about the small things is about to experience so much in life! It definitely pays off to be rich, yet wealth can also be a mindset, a lifestyle and an attitude that originates in our heads.
Next day greeted us with the journey to Rovaniemi. That is already the story for the new post.
Hugs!
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