6 things you must do while in Lapland

 1. Day trips to national parks

Terävä-Nattanen

The stairs of Ukko-Luosto

The stairs of Ukko-Luosto are only little more than one hour drive away from Rovaniemi. It's such an easy  and fun way to get up to the hill without any special equipment but still with your own muscle power. In the summer the whole trip up and down lasts probably an hour or so, unless you want to stay and enjoy the view for a while longer. 

Some of my other personal day trip favourites up to fells are Kiilopää in Saariselkä, Kätkätunturi in Levi, Särkitunturi in Muonio (also quite close from Levi), and also many forested hills closer to Rovaniemi.

2. Hetta-Pallas

I you are looking for something a bit more hardcore, you should definitely go through Hetta-Pallas hiking route. For that you obviously need better equipment like a tent and hiking shoes, but the route is also good for mediocre hikers since it's marked and pause spots are not that far away from each other. There are a lot of ups and downs, but I promise you it's worth it. The whole time you are able to admire Finnish fell scenery. If fifty-something kilometers seems a bit much, you can also start or finish from different places, or just take a day-trip to the fell near-by driveways like Taivaskero or Vuontiskero

3. See reindeer

When in Lapland, you should absolutely see reindeer. Actually, it might be even impossible to avoid them! You can go and see them in Napapiiri, but you can also easily spot them "in the wilderness". With that I mean driveways or beaches, where they mostly hang out.

4. Natural phenomena

The flood in Rovaniemi

While in Lapland, you should absolutely try to check out seasonal natural phenomena. In the winter you might be able to see aurora borealis and for sure will experience the polar night. On the contrary in summer you will see the midnight sun. In the spring the rivers are flooding and in the fall the trees and the ground is covered with fall colours.

5. Taste local treats and eat outside

In Lapland you should try local treats like Finnish squeaky cheese, reindeer meat in some form and of course our local berries: blueberries, cloudberries and lingonberries. If you are here sometime in the fall, you can even find them in the forest yourself. Something you also must experience in Lapland is eating outside. There is nothing like roasting a sausage in the fire or picking your own blueberries to your morning porridge in the most beautiful landscapes. For me a must is drinking some hot cocoa when I'm spending a day outdoors.

6. Visit Sea-Lapland

Lapland is not only fells and forests. A part of Lapland is on the bay of Bothnia and you should pay a visit.  Since I grew up in Kemi, I must recommend you to go to the harbour in a nice summer day and spend a nice day eating at the restaurants and enjoying the sun. The snow castle is also a popular view and they have something frozen also in the summer!

- Alina, Faculty of education