Ecoblogi – A Blog by Daniel Elkama

This summer I made an exciting trip through Arctic Fennoscandia. I spent 8 days adventuring in the northernmost parts of Finland, Sweden and Norway in Lapland. My adventure in the Arctic began in Vantaa, where I boarded the night train to Rovaniemi. I arrived in Rovaniemi the next morning and from there I continued to Kilpisjärvi by bus. I was there in the afternoon. Kilpisjärvi is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Finland. The lake is bordered on the Finnish side by the Saana and Malla fells and the Swedish fells. Kilpisjärvi is a remnant of an ancient mountain glacier. The water was wonderfully fresh when I got to swim in it. The area of Kilpisjärvi is very rugged, but the fell birch groves, which thrive in the area's sheltered limestone areas, are very green. The Saana and Malla fells have all the flowering plants of Finland's arctic region, such as Lapland anemones and bluebells.

My TOP-3 Finnish landscapes are 1) Kilpisjärvi 2) Koli 3) Päijänne National Park. I have hiked several days in all of them. All of them are also geologically and geographically special destinations.

I remember how our high school geography teacher boasted that Finland is the most exotic and fascinating destination for geographers and geologists. Finland has great geodiversity, i.e. the diversity of rocks, rock types, minerals and landforms, which has arisen as a result of endogenous processes and exogenous processes (erosion, weathering). The Ice Age left Finland with a huge number of traces, ridges, glaciers, boulders, dunes, lakes... Finland has also had volcanoes in the past, we have meteorite craters and stones and diamonds created by a meteor strike. We also have gold and ancient mountains that have been ground into fells over millions of years. The Kilpisjärvi area is the accumulation area of the ancient glacier and the U valley, which belong to the Skandie mountain range. Koli is an ancient mountain and a beautiful chain of ridge islands runs through Päijänne.

Geodiversity has a connection with the diversity of living nature. Erosion, weathering and endogenous processes create a diverse geological patchwork, on top of which a patchwork of living nature is built, these natural forces create several different soil types and landforms, which give rise to distinctive fauna and flora, i.e. different biotopes and habitat types. Dunes, ridges and stream banks have their own unique flora and fauna. Finland's natural diversity is therefore largely based on geodiversity. During my trip in the north, I came across a huge number of different landforms and geological formations. I look forward to exploring rocks, plants and animals in nature parks and elsewhere.

I hiked in Kilpisjärvi first on the south side of the Saana hill and then to its top from the north for a total of about 7 km. The climb to the top was surprisingly steep and demanding, about 550 m above the surface of Kilpisjärvi, about 1050 m above sea level. A heavy storm started at the top. In the fells, the weather changes unexpectedly. I took shelter in the hut at the bottom of the fell, where I spent the night. In the morning the weather was really clear and good and I continued down the slope and went to Malla nature park to hike. Malla is an extremely strictly protected nature park where you can only walk along a marked route. You are not allowed to take anything from nature there except memories and photos. Malla's hiking route runs first and last in a fell birch grove and in the middle is a very rugged fell hillside. The climb is about 300-400 m from the surface of Kilpisjärvi. In some places, you walk on rocks and on the edges of cliffs. The distance from the starting point of the Malla route to the border crossings of the Three Kingdoms is approximately 15 km. I hiked this in one day and camped in a tent near the border point.

The most amazing sights in the Malla nature park are the Iso- and Pikku-Malla fells and the highest waterfall in Finland, Kitsiputous, which is 118 m high. I took a shower at the foot of the waterfall. At the foot of Kitsiputou there was a microclimate-created streamside grove growing ferns and flowers. Malla has interesting plants and animals and biotopes. I saw, for example, hawks, bluebreasts, lemmings, willow grouses and reindeer, as well as beautiful flowers, such as  bluebells. Most of the lichens, crowberries and common birches grow on the fell plateau.



The next morning, I continued from the border point 3 km on the Swedish side to the shore of Kilpisjärvi, from where I could take the Malla boat back to the village of Kilpisjärvi. The boat trip took half an hour and the scenery was amazing.

The next day I left Kilpisjärvi village for Tromsø, Norway. Travel about 250 km. Nature immediately becomes even more rugged at the Norwegian border. There are huge mountains, glaciers, fjords and gorges. Coniferous trees, mainly pines, also grow in the mountains of Norway. When you come to the shore of the Arctic Ocean, there is green and birch trees and the climate is mild due to the Gulf Stream. The temperature is around 15 degrees at night and during the day. In Tromsø, the best experience is the Fjelhaisen, or cable lift, which goes up the mountain to a height of about 450 m, from which there are amazing views. The island of Tromsø and the surrounding mountains are stunning. There is a good campsite in Tromsø (where I camped for one night) and a nice arctic sandy beach in Telegraf, where I went swimming in the Arctic Ocean and also camped. Tromsø also has a beautiful old town and colorful, pretty wooden houses.

After spending two nights in Tromsø, I took a bus to Narvik, a distance of about 250 km. Narvik is a beautiful city on the shore of a fjord. The small beach by the fjord is especially beautiful, there is also a beautiful viewpoint on the nearby mountain. From Narvik you can see the Lofoten Islands. I stayed in a very nice hotel in Narvik. The next day I left Narvik by train for Luleå in Sweden on an old arctic train that goes over the Skandie mountain range. After the hotel night spent in Luleå, I continued to Tornio and from there took the night train home to Vantaa.

Arctic nature is harsh due to the cold climate, but surprisingly diverse. Many flowering plants have evolved to be especially beautiful in order for pollinating insects to find them. Due to the cold climate, arctic nature is mostly devoid of human habitation, and in Finland, for example, there are the last untouched wildernesses in our country. The Arctic has its own rare species of animals and plants, which are in danger of disappearing due to climate change. Biodiversity is abundant in the area despite and partly because of the harsh conditions. So the Arctic is not just rock and ice, but there are trees, flowers and songbirds. Specific conditions (climate, geology, etc.) have created their own and unique species. It's a real shame if this nature is lost. A couple of years ago, I hiked in the Saariselkä fells in northern Eastern Lapland, and there I climbed to the top of the Kiilopää fell. There is an endemic wedge-headed birch that slithers on the ground like a snake. It does not grow anywhere else in the world but on that one fell in Finland. Arctic nature is sensitive and even a small change could destroy a unique species like the wedge-headed birch. The only ways to save Arctic nature are frozen protected areas, pacification of species and ambitious climate work. We cannot afford to lose this wonderful and unique nature.


Daniel Elkama