Where can you experience the authentic magic of Lapland? Right here, in Salla!
*Commercial travel collaboration with Visit Salla – Salla In The Middle Of Nowhere
Salla is a fantastic travel destination in Eastern Lapland, Finland, offering activities year-round. Salla is a small town with a population of around 3,400 residents, surrounded by untouched forests, beautiful fells, and scenic lakes. This makes Salla a perfect destination for those who want to experience all the magic Lapland has to offer in one package. Here, you can enjoy various outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, mountain biking, ice fishing, and more. You can also relish the tranquility of nature, feed reindeer, pick berries, relax in a Finnish sauna, and see the Northern Lights from fall to winter, as well as the Midnight Sun in summertime.
Salla truly embodies the essence of Lapland, making it a must-visit for nature lovers and those seeking tranquility. This is also why Salla would be a great place for your stay in Lapland: Salla has been awarded the prestigious Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) label by Visit Finland, recognizing its sustainable practices and commitment to continuous improvement in responsible tourism. Salla is the sixth tourism area in Finland to receive this label. Additionally, Salla has also won the Skål Europe Sustainability Awards 2024 for its “Nature Compensation” campaign.
So, in late September, me and my dear friend set out to experience the beauty of autumn in Salla and discover the activities it has to offer. And now, I want to share my experiences and tips with you!
Visit These Places When Coming to Salla
Our journey began with a visit to the Salla Nature Center / Salla Wilderness Park, where I recommend starting your journey as well when coming to Salla. Address: Hautajärventie 111
The 41st National Park of Finland was established in the Salla area in 2022, and the Nature Center/Salla Wilderness Park is an excellent starting point for a trip to Salla, as it provides the best information on current conditions, routes, attractions, hiking opportunities, and activities. Here, you will find an info desk, a lunch restaurant, a souvenir shop, and a nature exhibition that highlights the unique aspects of Salla and this part of Eastern Lapland. The nature exhibition was really interesting and beautiful! We learned a lot about the nature in Salla and what kind of animals live here. There are also all kinds of maps of routes and well-explained information about what we could explore on our journey in the area and Salla National Park. The exhibition is free of charge and definitely not to be missed if you come to this part of Lapland. The Wilderness Park also offers various safaris and activities, including several reindeer activities. You can inquire about the activities at the center or check them out in advance through this link.
The 41st National Park of Finland was
established in the Salla area in 2022!
We also visited the center of Salla village and the Museum of War and Reconstruction during our trip. This museum showcased the history of the Salla area from the 1900s to the 1960s, as well as the Finnish war. Salla’s Museum of War and Reconstruction is located at Salla’s former railway station, in the old residences of the railway workers. We found the museum really nice, and I recommend visiting it. For example if the weather is a bit worse or if you have half a day to spend but don’t know what to do, go there!
Electric Mountain Biking in Lapland: My Favourite Thing to Do!
After visiting the Nature Center, we set out on electric mountain bikes to explore Salla’s biking trails and attractions. In recent years, Salla has built many wonderful nature observation points and rest and campfire spots where you can eat your packed lunch and take breaks during your outdoor trip. In my opinion, these structures are actually attractions in themselves – so these were really what we wanted to see!
You can easily rent bikes for your trip from the Salla Ski Resort rental point, which also offers other equipment rental and has a sports equipment shop. We cycled on relatively easy mountain biking trails, and the scenery was beautiful. The highlight was definitely biking to the top of Pieni Pyhätunturi, where we found hammocks to relax in on a beautiful day, a viewpoint, a campfire spot, and a nature observation point slightly to the south side of the fell. Electric mountain biking is one of the best activities you can do, as it allows you to explore Lapland’s magical nature with the help of electric assistance for climbing. I highly recommend it! If you don’t want to navigate the trails alone, you can also join a guided bike tour. And note that you can bike almost any time of the year, as Salla also has winter biking trails!
Interested in Fishing or Canoeing in Lapland?
In Eastern Lapland, there are excellent opportunities for both! On our second day, we attended a short fly fishing course with a guide to learn the basics. Our instructor was Jussi from Oulangan Taika, and He was truly an expert. We were a group of women, and none of us had ever fly-fished before, but with Jussi’s guidance, we got the hang of it after a bit of practice. Oulanka Magic offers various fishing guides and trips, so just ask them for what you like!
From Salla, there are also great canoeing opportunities on the Oulankajoki River. After the fishing course, we went canoeing on that river with another guide from Oulangan Taika. We started in the municipality of Salla and paddled along a beautiful route to the municipality of Kuusamo. At first, we thought canoeing would be difficult, but our guide taught us so well that we quickly got the hang of how to paddle the canoe! And just to say we had a lot of fun! The Oulankajoki River has also beautiful rapids and suspension bridges, so it’s really worth coming here to hike even on foot.
Convinced to come to Lapland and Salla?
I recommend starting by exploring the Visit Salla website, as it offers options for accommodation and activities, as well as information about the Salla area, the national park, and much more for when you visit Salla.
Accommodation in Salla: In Salla, you can stay in a hotel or rent a cottage. We stayed very comfortably in a cottage at Sallainen Caravan and Cottages, which was perfect for our needs! Our cottage even had a private sauna! The location was also excellent, close to the lake and the Sallatunturi fells.
I hope this information encourages you to take a vacation to the beautiful Salla and Eastern Lapland. I personally fell in love with the area and its amazing nature, so I will definitely come back someday as there is still so much to see. I cannot also emphasize enough the wonderful observation and rest spots in here, which were all my favorites!
The trip was part of the Rethinking North project.
XoXo:
–Seikkailumuikku
