In summer Lapland’s exceptional flora is in full bloom with little hint at its close proximity to the Polar Circle and many who travel there are attracted by the long and virtually traffic-free roads that lead through its vast wilderness.

Due to its exceptional range of winter sports activities the small holiday resort of Sirkka has become extremely popular in the winter months yet in summer its large empty spaces and vacated houses are like a beautiful ghost town.

Extending for almost three thousand square kilometres the Lemmenjoki National Park is the largest nature reserve in Finland and also one of the largest uninhabited forest areas in Europe.

Close to Lake Ravadasjärvi foaming white water shoots down the Ravadasköngäs, an impressive waterfall situated at the confluence of the Lemmenjoki and Ravadasjoki Rivers in a readily accessible section of the park.

Two thousand six hundred and three kilometres divide the Polar Circle from the North Pole but another legendary location that attracts people from all over the world is close by: the Santa Claus Village just outside Rovaniemi enchants both young and old alike. The Santa Claus of today owes his appearance mainly to North American literature and illustrations and over the course of time more and more imaginary details have been added to his ‘hectic’ way of life. In the 1920’s Finland’s newspapers wrote that Santa Claus’s home should be in Lapland as the North Pole was much too cold for his reindeer.

The journey across Lapland, the legendary Land Of The Midnight Sun, confirms that the extreme north of Finland is truly one of the most unspoiled natural landscapes in the world.