Sodankylä

Sodankylä is a municipality and town in Finnish Lapland.

Lake Harrijärvi in Urho Kekkonen National Park.

Towns and villages
  • 🌍 Sodankylä (town). See below (updated Jan 2018)
  • 🌍 Tankavaara (some 90 km north of Sodankylä centre along E75). Gold digging village, including opportunities of gold digging on site or as expeditions. Large collection of geological samples. Visitor centre and trailhead for the national park.  
  • 🌍 Luosto. Ski resort. Skiing, husky safaris etc. Amethyst mine open to the public .  

Other destinations
  • 🌍 Urho Kekkonen National Park. The second largest national park in Finland, with mires, deep forests and ranges of treeless fells. In the western parts there are good services, while most of the park is wilderness. The adjacent Sompio strict nature reserve includes the same habitats in a smaller scale.
    Visitor centre and some trailheads in Tankavaara. For Sompio and the Ruijanpolku trails drive 88 km to the north from Sodankylä centre along E75, to Vuotso, turn east along the Sompiojärventie forest road. There are trailheads after 9, 10 and 13.5 km; for the UKK trail and Nuorttijoki drive 145km east to Tulppio in Savukoski; for other options, see the park article     Free.  

Understand
Sodankylä
Climate chart (explanation)
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Records in January -50/+7 °C (−57/+44 °F), in July -1/+31 °C (+31/+67 °F)
Imperial conversion
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
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Sodankylä is situated in the heart of Finnish Lapland. It provides a perfect environment for both the active hiker and the person seeking peace, space and silence. Vast forests, unspoiled wild nature, wide open aapa mires and rugged fells of Northern Lapland in particular, are characteristic to this area. The Luosto ski resort, the Tankavaara gold village and parts of the Urho Kekkonen National Park are in the municipality.

The northern part of the municipality belongs to the Sámi native region.

Get in

There are no airports or railway stations in Sodankylä, so the only way to get in is by road, i.e. by car or bus. Buses along national road 4 (E75) between Rovaniemi and Ivalo stop in Sodankylä; the distance from Rovaniemi is 130 km, from Ivalo 160 km.

Get around

You can get around in the town itself by foot. However many attractions are located tens of kilometres outside of it and there are just a few buses a day (mainly just along highway 4), hence a car is the most practical mode of transportation.

See

Do

A large variety of activities are available around the municipality in winter as well as in summer: snowmobile driving, ice fishing, reindeer farm visits, snow shoe walks, cross-country and downhill skiing, riverboat cruises, fishing, hiking and cycling.

  • 🌍 Ilmakkiaapa mires (35 km to the north along E75). Easy 2·400m trail along duckboards over the aapa mire to a birdwatching tower. In spring the trail is flooded, otherwise no equipment is needed in dry weather, as long as you keep to the trail. Rubber boots needed for berry picking. Take your binoculars with you, to better see the birds. Right to access applies. Free. (updated Aug 2015)

Events

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Buy
  • The northernmost Lidl on earth. True, a Lidl as such is nothing special, but this here is the northernmost on earth as a banner just outside the store proudly proclaims (updated Jun 2018)

Go next
Routes through Sodankylä

END ←  N  S  → Kuusamo → Turku
Ivalo ← Tankavaara ←  N  S  → Rovaniemi → Helsinki


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