katikaa Finally on holiday and in Northern Finland! It was a few days drive 1200 kilometers pit stop at along the way for the night and off in the morning again here.
Drive was ok and made a few stops here and there so it did not feel that long. , but you do know you are in Lapland when these fellows start appearing on the road and roadside.
Our first night was at fell Pallas above the Arctic Circle close to Muonio. Here there is no sunrise or sunset this time of the year so intention was to do an evening stroll up and down the highest point to enjoy the silence and never setting midnight sun. We arrived around 9 pm at our cottage, ate quickly and left pretty soon after that.
Decided to do the 9 k route to Taivaskero and back (highest point 809 m, starting at 442m parking lot so ascent 367 m). We thoroughly enjoyed the clean air, silence and nature. Stopped to take photos of animals and just soaked it all in. We were back exactly at midnight… still bright daylight!
After the gravel section it was a bit more rugged 
Until the terrain is pretty much just a huge pile of rocks
The path was gravel to start with, but later on just pure pile of rocks so would not recommend it all the way to the top with small kids, but even with just the gravel part the scenery was really beautiful.
As it was really late we were all alone and managed to get a glimpse of the local animals. This herd of reindeer for example and cute little Kiiruna bird who just camouflaged in the rocks thinking we would not notice it and let us come really close. Also saw two weasels “Lumikko” frolicking around. They were so fast, but managed to get a bit of video, but it’s a bit too blurry and this bird that I haven’t looked up yet what it would be, but it did make a cute sound.
Herd of reindeer happened to be on the slope 
Kiiruna 
No idea what bird this was but it made a cute sound
Although we had fairly clear skies and hardly any wind during the hike at the top it was a bit colder and a bit more windy so windproof gear along.
The scenery was worth climbing for as they always tend to be.
So what is different so far that I have made a note of compared to 1200 km South to Helsinki, capital of Finland where we live? It seemed that the vegetation changed after the Arctic Circle to more rough, more low grow. Also trees seemed to get smaller and there is more swamp areas. We have seen beautiful rivers, rapids, lakes and beaches.
There is reindeer here and there alone, in packs and in herds. It is so quiet everywhere and so few people. One thing clearly only possible up here, there are separate roads and crossings for snowmobiles. Not in use during the summer obviously and there would be no need for that in Helsinki area as we sometimes do not get enough snow to do even cross country skiing depending on the winter.
Snowmobile crossing 
Secluded beaches to camp / park you camper for the night
Needless to say I am in love. This is such a different, versatile area that I never knew existed in my own home country. I have also learned that Finland is a LONG country. We have already driven 1200 kilometers and we are still in Finland!
Today we head out to check even higher peak fell Saana close to Kilpisjärvi, Finland. Boots have been good so far but let’s see what my feet say after the hike today!
