Finland: Oulanka and the Kuusamo Wilderness

Arrive in Helsinki

Helsinki Airport to your hotel in central Helsinki

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Helsinki
• Environ 30 min de route

Soir

Plan to land by about 3 pm so you are in time for the early-evening walk. Your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the hotel lobby for a short briefing on the week: what the days in Kuusamo look like, what to wear, and how the summer or winter programme runs. Then we walk the centre together: the Market Square by the South Harbour, the green dome of Helsinki Cathedral above Senate Square, the long park of the Esplanadi, and the seafront out towards Kaivopuisto, where the islands of the archipelago start. In summer the light lasts well into the night; in winter the walk is short and the city is lit. We finish with a welcome dinner of Finnish food at a restaurant in the centre.

Compris

• Pick-up at Helsinki Airport (HEL)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Evening walk: the Market Square, Senate Square, Helsinki Cathedral and the Esplanadi
• Welcome dinner in central Helsinki

Fly north to Kuusamo and Ruka

Helsinki to Kuusamo by air, then Ruka

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Ruka
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

After breakfast we take the domestic flight from Helsinki to Kuusamo, about an hour and a half, over a country of lakes and forest that gets whiter or greener the further north you go. Our minibus and driver meet the group at the small Kuusamo airport for the half-hour drive to Ruka, the fell village that is our base for six nights. Ruka has shops, cafes and restaurants within a short walk of the hotel, which matters on the free evenings.

Après-midi

After lunch on your own and time to settle in, we walk up the slopes of Konttainen, the fell beside the village, for a first look over the lakes and forests towards Oulanka. On winter departures we first fit everyone with a thermal overall, boots and mittens for the week, and the walk is a short loop on snowshoes.

Soir

Dinner together at the hotel, and on clear winter nights your guide watches the aurora forecast.

Compris

• Flight from Helsinki to Kuusamo (KAO)
• Transfer to Ruka
• Winter clothing fitted for the week (winter departures)
• Guided walk or snowshoe on Konttainen fell
• Dinner at the hotel

The Little Bear's Ring

Ruka to Juuma, the Little Bear's Ring in Oulanka National Park, and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Ruka
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

A morning start for the drive of about half an hour to Juuma, the hamlet where the Little Bear's Ring, Pieni Karhunkierros, begins.

Après-midi

In summer this is a loop of about 12 km through Oulanka National Park, and we walk it from the morning so the busiest stretch is behind us before the midday day-hikers arrive. The path follows the Kitkajoki through pine forest and over wooden steps: the old mill at the Myllykoski rapids, the narrow gorge where the Jyrava falls drop about 9 m, and the suspension bridges that sway over the river. Lunch is cooked over a fire at a lean-to shelter on the trail. In winter the rapids steam between snow and ice, and we snowshoe a section of about 6 to 8 km to Myllykoski and Jyrava and back, with the same fire lunch.

Soir

Back in Ruka by late afternoon for a hot shower and dinner together.

Compris

• The Little Bear's Ring with your guide: Myllykoski, the Jyrava falls and the Kitkajoki suspension bridges
• Snowshoes and poles on winter departures
• Lunch cooked over a fire on the trail
• Dinner in Ruka

The Oulanka river, or huskies in the snow

Ruka to the Oulanka river and Kiutakongas (summer) or a husky farm near Ruka (winter), and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Ruka
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a fire on a sandbank. Afterwards we walk to the Kiutakongas rapids, where the river breaks white through red dolomite cliffs. In winter we go instead to a husky farm near Ruka: the mushers show you how to drive and brake a sled and how they care for the dogs, then you ride about 10 km through snowy forest, two to a sled and taking turns to drive. Lunch is at the farm by the fire. The afternoon is free, and on winter nights your guide takes a group out for the aurora if the sky is clear.

Compris

• Summer: guided canoe trip of about 15 km on the Oulanka river, with all equipment
• Summer: walk to the Kiutakongas rapids
• Winter: husky safari of about 10 km with a farm visit
• Winter: an aurora outing with your guide on a clear evening
• Lunch by the fire, dinner in Ruka

Reindeer, then bears or the aurora

Ruka to a reindeer farm, then a bear hide east of Kuusamo (summer) or a dark spot outside Ruka (winter)

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Ruka
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

A slower morning, then a visit to a reindeer farm in the Kuusamo area, where a herding family explains the year of a herder: calving in spring, the round-ups in autumn, and how the animals roam free in the forest. You can feed the reindeer, and in winter take a short sleigh ride behind one.

Après-midi

Lunch is at the farm, often a reindeer or salmon soup by the fire. The afternoon is free.

Soir

On summer departures we eat an early dinner and drive about an hour towards the eastern border to a bear hide, where a local guide settles the group into a wooden hut with viewing slots. We sit quietly through the light evening, often until about midnight, for brown bears and sometimes wolverines; sightings are likely but never promised. On winter departures the evening is an aurora outing to a dark lakeshore away from village light, with a campfire and hot berry juice, if the sky allows.

Compris

• Reindeer farm visit with a herding family, with a sleigh ride in winter
• Lunch at the farm
• Summer: an evening at a bear hide with a local guide
• Winter: an aurora evening with a campfire
• Dinner in Ruka

A free day in Ruka

Ruka

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Ruka

Soir

Lunch and dinner are on your own, and the village restaurants are a short walk from the hotel.

Compris

• Your guide in Ruka for advice and bookings

Activités en option

• Summer: Valtavaara hike, mountain bike rental, stand-up paddling, guided fishing
• Winter: downhill or cross-country skiing, snowmobile safari, ice fishing

Riisitunturi and the smoke sauna

Ruka to Riisitunturi National Park, then a lakeside smoke sauna, and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Ruka
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is by a fire. In the late afternoon we go to a traditional smoke sauna by a lake, heated for hours with a wood fire and then aired so only the soft heat and the smell of smoke remain. Finnish sauna culture is on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage. Between rounds you swim in the lake in summer or dip through a hole in the ice in winter, if you dare.

Soir

A farewell dinner follows.

Compris

• Riisitunturi National Park with your guide, on snowshoes in winter
• Lunch by a fire
• Traditional smoke sauna by a lake, with a lake swim or ice-hole dip
• Farewell dinner

Fly back to Helsinki

Ruka to Kuusamo Airport, then by air to Helsinki Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

A last breakfast in Ruka and, if the flight allows, a short walk in the village or one more look at the view from the fells. Our minibus takes the group to Kuusamo airport, about half an hour, for the domestic flight back to Helsinki of about an hour and a half. Your guide flies with you and sees you to the connection area at Helsinki Airport, where the trip ends.

Après-midi

Flight times from Kuusamo change by season and by day of the week, so book your onward flight home from Helsinki for the afternoon or later; we confirm the time of the Kuusamo flight and the latest safe connection with your final itinerary.

Soir

If you would rather stay on, we can book an extra night in Helsinki for you, close to the Market Square and the ferry to the island fortress of Suomenlinna, which is on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Compris

• Transfer to Kuusamo Airport (KAO)
• Flight from Kuusamo to Helsinki Airport (HEL)

Activités en option

• Extra night in Helsinki, booked on request