You have a trip to Kuusamo on your mind, but you're not sure what to do? Or there are so many options that you don't know where to start? Here are 5 tips for a Kuusamo adventure! At the end, there are also more options if these five are not enough! 1. Ruka Village A paradise for skiers and also if you like to eat in restaurants! Ruka Village is charming, accommodation is available both in the center of the village and further away. You can also find a grocery store, other shops, and eateries (Subway, Kotipizza, and local restaurants) in the village. If you visit here, it's also worth taking a tour with chairlifts or the scenic gondola! In the summer, you can ride down the slope on a summer sled! Ruka also has a Bike Park. For those who enjoy downhill biking! 2. Valtavaara Summit and Konttainen Kuhaus Valtavaara Summit is a marked circular route that starts from Ruka. If you stay at Vuosselinhelmi or Ruka Valley, the parking lot is within walking distance! You can also reach this parking lot by Ruka's scenic gondola, which runs between Ruka Village - Saarua Peak - Ruka Valley. This route is quite challenging, although I saw school-aged children on the trail. But there's a lot of elevation gain! The view rewards you when you reach the Valtavaara Summit and the Päivätupa located there. The highest point of Valtavaara is almost 500 meters! This route partly follows the Bear's Trail, so you might see hikers on their last hiking miles, usually at the Ruka end. Valtavaara Summit is 5.7 km long. If you continue further north, you'll reach Konttainen. However, the route is quite challenging and involves some climbing with ropes! You can also reach Konttainen by car, and from the parking lot, there's the "Konttainen Kuhaus" route, which gradually ascends until you reach the summit. This route is 2 km long. From the summit, you can see several lakes. The route is easy to walk. The scenery eventually rewards you! If you continue from Valtavaara to Konttainen, there's a lot of walking with ropes. I tried to capture the elevation here, but I didn't quite succeed! At Konttainen Kuhaus 3. Kiutaköngäs Kiutaköngäs is located in Oulanka National Park. You can reach it by finding the Oulanka Visitor Centre. Kiutaköngäs is only a few hundred meters from the visitor center, but if you want to walk more, there's the "Könkään keino" route, which is about 8 kilometers long. Along the route, there are resting places where you can enjoy your snacks. There are also a couple of ponds and wooden walkways along the route. The route is recommended to be walked counterclockwise; I walked clockwise myself because I wanted to take pictures of the rapids early in the morning! I personally liked this clockwise direction! The visitor center also offers the "Hiiden hurmos" route, which is 5 km long. The visitor center has a cafe-restaurant where you can enjoy tasty soup on weekdays for 12 euros. You can also order from the à la carte menu; offerings include reindeer sausage with potatoes, fish and meat burgers, etc. Hikers on the Bear's Trail also pass by the visitor center. 4. Käylä Käylä is a small village with one building. Hooray! Ok, there's more around it. Leenan Koskitupa is a few hundred meters from Sale, and there you can get coffee and pastries. You can enjoy these in the yard, watching the rapids and small streams that eventually merge into the rapids. Käylä also has the nearest grocery store if you are in Juumaa or Oulanka National Park. It's 12 kilometers from Juumaa. There it is! Käylä's Sale. 5. Pieni Karhunkierros If none of these four seemed familiar to you, maybe you'll recognize this one! Pieni Karhunkierros is probably the most famous or at least one of the most famous routes in all of Finland! Pieni Karhunkierros is 12 kilometers long and is also part of the Bear's Trail (that legendary, long Bear's Trail, 80 km). I saw small children and elderly people on this route! So it's suitable for a wide age range, as long as the basic fitness level is okay. I wouldn't go on this with a very young child, but let's say from school age and up, this is fine. The route is quite challenging overall, with a lot of elevation changes and some stairs! I'll be publishing my own post about this Little Bear's Trail and share my own tips on how to hike the route and where the best rest spots are! Jyrävä Waterfall If you've visited these places or if you're still thirsty for more destinations and things to do in Kuusamo, I asked for tips on Facebook. I received almost a hundred comments, and here are the most popular ones; Kuusamo Predator Center; where there are bears, foxes, lynxes, and wolves. This place is known specifically for those bears! You can visit their website here https://kuusamon-suurpetokeskus.fi/index.html Hossa National Park; for those who enjoy walking in nature or even canoeing. You can also get to Hossa from Kuusamo by bus. You can find more information here; https://www.luontoon.fi/hossa As restaurants and cafes, Pizzeria Ruka, Leenan Koskitupa in Käylä, and Mokkakettu in the center of Kuusamo were praised. Canoeing; For example, from the Oulanka Visitor Centre, you can paddle the route from Kiutaköngäs Suvanto to Jäkälänmutka, 25 km. From some places, you can rent a kayak and transportation service (so that you paddle those 25 km, and a car picks you up from Jäkälänmutka at a certain time). For solo travelers, I recommend booking guided canoeing through a local tour operator. You can find information about canoeing routes here; https://www.luontoon.fi/oulanka/melontareitit One-euro donut coffees at Riipinen and Riipinen game restaurant Basecamp Oulanka has good vegan food
