*Paid collaboration Salla in The Middle of Nowhere

Gateway to Land of National Parks - project

THE TRAIL TO SWAMPS AND FELLS - TOPSAKANTAIVAL SALLA

September 10th 2020

Name: Topsakantaival

Distance: 45km but you can easily walk only parts

Walking time: From May to October

Starting point: Salla Reindeer Park, Hautajärvi nature center or from midway Aihkipetsi

To see: Large Swamp areas, Golden eagle, Old forests, Hawks, Siberian Jay, Reindeer

Difficulty: Average - Challenging

About the hike in Finnish: HERE

Map link to Hautajärvi HERE

Last weekend we were invited to Salla to visit a hike that is definitely not overcrowded. This region has more popular hikes but at least for us it’s much nicer to walk a path where not that many have been walking. We met four people in three days and two of them were our friends! Our group was me, my boyfriend Mikko and our friends Harri & curly retriever Kaffe.

The path is marked with red signs but at some points you need to be careful that you don’t start following a reindeer path. This is maybe the only reason I can think of why this trail is marked as challenging, the possibility of getting lost. The first part from Hautajärvi is currently under repair so we skipped that. Whenever you plan on coming here you should call Hautajärvi nature center and ask the situation and tips where to start depending on your time and other limitations.

We absolutely loved this hike. The way is pretty easy and it truly feels like being in a remote place. The best view points during this hike are more down at the swamp areas as up in the fells you are still in the middle of the forest. Our favourite part was definitely the Palotunturi hut next to the lake. This old tipii type of hut was adorable and we decided to stay the night near by. Boys went swimming in the lake.

Other nice stopping points were Siskelilammi hut, Aihkipetsi day hut and Suksenpaistama lean to shelter.

I can imagine this hike being great during a midsummer, but now the Autumn colours were slowly starting to glow.

As we were reading the guest book we noticed some people are also visiting the Palotunturi hut during winter. It must be really beautiful but I would still say summer is nicer if you want to hike the entire way.

This route is part of the UKK route named after our president Urho Kekkonen. The route is around 1000 km through Finland’s eastern border to Urho Kekkonen National Park. Me and Mikko have been hiking the less traveled paths of the UKK route this summer and this was our third hike on that same UKK route. We visited Tuntsa area and Posio and did pretty similar distances in both of them 25-40 km.

This Topsakantaival route was really interesting and diverse part of the entire UKK route. The route itself has around 600 meters of going up and same down but it' was not that steep and it’s divided to the entire hike.

During these three days our weather was everything. We had rain, strong winds, sunshine, fog, starry sky, moonrise and above all Northern Lights. It’s maybe the best feeling when you can watch the Northern Lights right from your camping place on a hike. After the show you can just brush your teeth and go to your comfy sleeping bag for the night.

The area of Salla is really good for stargazing and Northern Lights as it doesn’t have that much light pollution and it’s located in Lapland where you can see Northern lights pretty often, at least when it’s clear sky and dark enough. On Topsakantaival hike you can find many camping spots where you can observe the night skies.

My highlights of the hike: Palotunturi tipii hut at night, Palotunturi lake in the morning and Topsakka-aapa swamp

My boyfriend Mikko really loves this type of hikes so I asked his comments on this route:

Mikko: It was nice to find this remote wilderness type of area so near the roads. If you like these type of landscapes this will be a hike just for you. Salla has a lot of possibilities and if you visit the area you should definitely consider doing at least some parts of this hike.

Why to go?

If you love huge swamp areas and old forests you will love this. If you like less crowds and being by yourself this is a hike for you.

You can get here with public transportation with the bus that goes to Salla from Kuusamo or from the airport. During this hike we saw a lot of wildlife that you rarely see as there as so many people on the same hike. We saw for example a golden eagle and a hawk.

As our friend, a hiking specialist Jouni Laaksonen writes, ‘It’s good to keep these less popular routes open by visiting them.’

I think you will always find something extra nice when you are exploring places that has been mainly used by locals only.

Rules and tips:

The huts are not meant for sleeping so it’s better to carry your own tent. You can for sure rest in the huts and prepare you dinner or lunch. When you leave the hut clean it good and make it look better than it was :) It’s also really nice to make some firewood ready for the next person.

It’s good to read and write to the guest book where you are coming from and where are you heading. We usually also write if we see some animals or Northern lights.

If one of your hiking nights is going to be clear, stay near Palotunturi hut. There are two Palotunturi huts so the nicer in our opinion is the one further North.

Have a nice hike!

Eeva, Mikko, Harri & Kaffe