One great reason to stop for a walkabout in the town of Kajaani is the area of the river: both the ruins of the Kajaani castle as well as the tar canal locks are located next to it. We were on a roadtrip, driving from South of Finland towards Lapland, and had already stopped in Kuopio to admire the views from the famous Puijo tower. We needed another quick break to...
Cloudberry (rubus chamaemorus) is a native herb in Finland, growing in bogs, meadows and marshes. The berries are famous delicacy in Finland, known as hilla, lakka and suomuurain in Finnish. A beloved child has many names! I haven't always been a fan of cloudberries, especially when I was younger and couldn't stand mosquitos eating me alive at bogs. Cloudberries also have stones, similar to...
Rumavaara is a hill that overlooks Korentojärvi lake in Pudasjärvi municipality in the province of Oulu. Pudasjärvi is famous for its nature, and it is home to Syöte, the southernmost fell area in Finland. In order to reach Rumavaara, you have to cross the devil's field first!
Rumavaara literally means ugly hill,...
National parks in Finland are attracting millions of visitors every year. There are 40 national parks in Finland, all of them distinct from one another. Which are the most visited national parks in Finland? What are their special characteristics? When was the oldest national park established? Which is the biggest? Read more to find out which national park you should...
We were on a roadtrip from Jyväskylä all the way to Enontekiö in north western Lapland, and we wanted to visit Hepoköngäs along the way. We knew the largest free-falling waterfalls in Finland were somewhere in the Kainuu region just above the midriff of Finland so we took out an old-fashioned map and checked out that it was located in Puolanka, about 100km above the town of Kajaani. Yes,...
Mushroom picking in Finland is a popular hobby and even an income for some. It is allowed by everyman's rights, and Finland really is mushroom picker's paradise. There are thousands of types of mushroom and few hundred of those are edible. Most of the edible mushrooms are collected from end of August to October. Mushrooms mainly grow in forests, but they can also be found in parks, fields and...
