Into the wilderness in Finland!

Photo. Sunset seen from the middle of the dense forest in Finland. © Travel Explorations.

In Taivalkoski, a small village in northern Finland, I observed reindeers resting on a football ground. And one day I was strolling naked from the cottage to a small lake for taking a swim, two reindeers emerged suddenly from the dense forest. The only thing you can expect in the Soumi wilderness, is the unexpected. Something is always going on here.

What I find most fascinated by travelling around in the wildnerness in Finland, is meeting local people who tell dramatic stories about hunting. Some of the stories are retold here.

On 17 July 2006 I visited a familiy deep in the forest. The man was a eager hunter and he told me proudly that he had shot a big bear previous year near the cottage I was going to. He showed me the scull from the bear. I noticed that the bear had big sharp theeth, and I wouldn`t like to be bitten by this beast of an animal.

On 18 July a local man visited me at the summer cottage I stayed in. He told me that a big elk had crossed his way last year. He made a perpect shot and the elk fell down on the ground. He became real amazed when he noticed that the elk had 16 horns and messaure 125 cm around its horns.

Just one kilometres from the cottage I stayed in, he also told me that a bear had crossed the road straight ahead of him, when he was driving a car. He admitted that his eyes got real big, but there was no dramatic in the situation. He observed the bear from the car for a while, and so the bear found his way back to the forest again.

On 20 July I visit a family north of Oulu. In the house there was a head of a big elk - moose hanging on the wall. I counted 18 horns. The proud hunter told me that he shot this elk last year. It weighted far over 300 kilos. He assumed that there has been shot 4 - 5 elks like this before in Finland.

In the summertime when it`s hot, reindeers and elks move out to the roads for escaping from the bloodthirsty mosquitos, especially when they occurs in the dark nights. So drivers have to look carefully at the roads even the roads are so well paved, flat and you get good overview, big animals can suddenly across the roads faster than you believe.

There are 35 National Parks in Finland. They are managed by Metsähallitus, except Koli National Park which is managed by Finnish Forest Research Institute.

National Parks are jewels of the Finnish nature reserves; large areas with diverse natural features. There are impressive natural sights, and also nationally and internationally valuable ecosystems.

In National Parks, you can enjoy the peace in the scenic landscape. Hikers can find marked trails, some of which are easy, others more demanding. In the largest parks, you can stay overnight and go wilderness trekking.

Many parks have a visitor centre, which is an excellent place to start an excursion.

Wilderness areas in Northern Lapland offer the ideal environment for experienced hikers, who want to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature and hike through wild terrain without meeting other people.

Wilderness Areas  
There are 12 wilderness areas in Finland, which together cover 15,000 sq. km of land area. Wilderness areas are managed by Metsähallitus.

Hammastunturi 
Kaldoaivi 
Kemihaara 
Käsivarsi 
Muotkatunturi 
Paistunturi 
Pulju 
Pöyrisjärvi 
Tarvantovaara 
Tsarmitunturi 
Tuntsa 
Vätsäri 

Pudasjervi - The National Park's area is 299 km2. The beautiful, wild landscape is covered with marshes and hills with spruce forests. Different guided hikes lasting even for several days are organised in the National Park. You can also hike on your own or with your friends along our signposted hiking trails.

Syöte National Park
Provinces of Oulu and Lapland; North Ostrobothnia and Lapland Regions
Municipalities of Pudasjärvi (www.pudasjarvi.fi), Taivalkoski (www.taivalkoski.fi, in Finnish), Posio (www.posio.fi, in Finnish)
Area: 299 sq.km. Established 2000.
The area is managed by Metsähallitus.

The landscape of Syöte National Park, with its rugged hills, special bogs on hill tops and slopes, and old spruce forests create an attractive setting for a hiker. Syöte is the largest of the four parts of the Park, and it offers excellent possibilities for hiking in the summer as well as skiing in the winter. The cross-country skiing trails in the National Park form a remarkable part of the skiing trail network that serves the tourist centres of Syöte. The areas in the municipalities of Taivalkoski and Posio are quieter and very suitable for trekking.

Syöte National Park is a chain of old-growth forests, part of which is high altitude forest. One fourth of the area of the Park is mires of different types. Most of these are North Ostrobothnian aapa bogs, but some are hanging bogs on the hill slopes at altitude of even 300 metres. Many of the mires represent the old meadow culture. Remains and marks of the slash-and-burn agriculture, reindeer-herding, and forestry of the old times can be seen in many places.

Stein Morten Lund, 24 July 2006