Visit Lapland
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Intro to Lapland
Watch videos and get to know Finnish Lapland. More videos at Visit Finland
Amazing Northern lights
Lapland is great place to witness northern lights.
Exploring Finnish Lapland
Hiking in Lapland tn the autumn.
Lapland basics
Lapland is the largest and Northern most region of Finland and home to approximately 3.4% of Finland’s entire population. It is by far the least densely populated area in the country with untouched nature.
The most common languages spoken in Lapland are Finnish, Sami and Swedish. The Sami people are the only aboriginals of Scandinavia and around 6000 of them reside in Finland’s Lapland.
The main source of income and transportation for the Sami people originates from reindeer husbandry which has become a popular tourist activity along the years. Aside from reindeer husbandry, the current ethnical minority is also known for fishing, hunting and producing traditional arts and crafts which can be viewed at the Sami Museum located in the village parish of Inari.
Nature in Lapland
The untouched nature of Lapland is one of its most alluring attractions with three vivid divisions in season.
The dark Arctic winters bring Northern Lights chasers and star gazers to Lapland from all around the globe. Lapland is also known for its Midnight Sun in summer, a natural phenomenon during which the sun does not set for up to three months.
There is also beautiful autumnal season known as “Ruska” which paints the land in soft tones of orange, yellow, brown and green due to the changes of colour in the leaves and ground.
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Northern Lights
Lapland is situated at the Arctic Circle and it is a popular destination to view Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights.
Did you know?
The Northern lights can be viewed for more than 200 nights out of 365 most commonly from late August to April. Aurora Borealis can be viewed from most of Lapland region but the most northern parts such as Saariselkä provide clearer skies and better chances for vivid observation of the phenomenon. Chasing northern lights has become one of the most common reasons for tourism and can be viewed from the snowy fells to purpose built spaces and luxury hotel suites.
Exploring Finnish Lapland
Activities
Lapland offers a lot of of activities such as reindeer rides, husky sleighs and snow shoe excursions. Visitors can indulge in varieties of outdoor activities with the most popular one being cross-country and downhill skiing offered by the magnificent highland fells. The Urho Kekkonen national park also situates here providing an ideal spot for hiking during Ruska or cross-country skiing during winter. The village of Inari lies next to the beautiful lake Inarijärvi which translates to “Inari River” and is a popular spot for reindeer herding and finding genuine local arts and crafts.
Saariselkä
Inari-Saariselkä, situated in the far North of Lapland is one of the most popular travel destinations. The region holds a wealth of opportunities for year-round travel with its unique northern countryside, highland fells, rivers, lakes and national parks. Experiencing the beauty of Lapland’s raw nature is now easier than ever, thanks to the newly built Wilderness Center.
Saariselkä is the northernmost travel destination in Europe and offers a glimpse of genuine Lapland as the Sami culture is very evident in this region. Saariselkä offers a variety of activities and provides an excellent transportation network despite lying in the heart of the arctic. It is only 25km away from the Ivalo international airport.
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Photography credits
- Konsta Punkka (main photo)
- Matti Koutonen (Lapland Basics)
- Antti Pietikäinen (Northern Lights)
- Juho Kuva (Activities & Christmas)
- Aleksi Koskinen (Saariselkä)