INARI

This village situated on the banks of Lake Inarijärvi is the centre for Finland’s Sámi culture with environs and neighbouring villages still having a thriving Sámi culture. The Inari parish village and environs are home to around a thousand inhabitants. The village of Inari is the second largest village of the Inari Municipality. The village is located on the rugged shores of Lake Inarijärvi and next to the River Juutuanjoki Bridge. Inari offers a natural and genuine alternative for travellers after untamed nature and original culture.

The most fundamental parts of the region’s nature are Lake Inarijärvi, numerous sparkling water rivers and thousands of lakes, over a hundred named fells, hills and the magical changing of the seasons from twilight northern lights to the nightless night of summer with swamps and bogs as far as the eye can see.

North Lapland has Europe’s most expansive wilderness regions, which are uninhabited and untouched areas with forests kept in their natural state. The wilderness regions are home to e.g. the brown bear, wolverine and wolf, and birds such as the capercaillie and Siberian jay. The hills and fells with the meandering rivers in between form a magnificent entirety. The virginity and purity of nature have remained unchanged for millennia.

IVALO

Ivalo is the administrative centre for the Inari Municipality and is the village with the most inhabitants in the municipality (population of 4,300). From Ivalo you can find North Lapland’s most diverse services and everything else you need from fishing permits to handicrafts and accommodation to activity services. The well equipped food stores keep their doors open from early morning to late evening, every day of the week, even on Sundays.

Finland’s northernmost airport is also located in Ivalo, which provides connections to the rest of the world. The residential areas are surrounded by expansive wilderness and many Inari villages worth a visit, where Sámi and Lappish culture are very much apparent today.

The parish village of Inari, Sevettijärvi and Nellim are population centres displaying Lappish life close to Ivalo, and Rajajooseppi is your gateway to Murmansk and the Kola Peninsula. Ivalo is also close to a number of fishing villages in northern Norway and the North Cape.
Lemmenjoki is renowned for its gold rush history and the Lemmenjoki National Park for its spectacular nature.