 It's well know that Norway (in particular) and Sweden are the most mountainous Scandinavian countries, but then walking uphill is not an absolute requirement for a trek to be an enjoyable experience. And whilst Finland has lumpy bits, or Tunturi, as they like to call them in these parts, it's the other features of this fascinating neighbour of Russia that makes an outdoor adventure such a fulfilling experience.
The south of the country is mostly flat, forested and laced with rivers and lakes whilst the north is hillier with wide open spaces. The highest summit in Finland is Halti (1328m) up above the Arctic Circle and near the Swedish and Norwegian borders
Almost all trekking locations are well serviced with public transport that will get you to the trailhead and whisk you away when you're all done. There are huts for on trail overnight accommodation, good waymarks and, unless you're travelling out of season, there'll always be plenty of outdoor loving Finns to keep you company.
The five trails featured are in our opinion the best to be had in Finland and will certainly offer you diverse experiences and a great time.
Trail 1: Halti Trail
Location: Up north, above the Arctic Circle, near the village of Kilpisjarvi
Nearest airport: Hetta
Difficulty: Nothing to worry about if you are used to the outdoor life
How long: Five days
What's it like?: A trek to the highest summit of any country is unlikely to be a solitary experience and so it proves on the Halti trail. This five day hike through the wide open spaces and mountains of northern Finland is very popular with the locals and visitors alike though, surprisingly, it still feels like you're on a wilderness adventure due to the sheer vastness of the vistas.
At the start of the trail there's a visitor centre where you can pick up maps and buy keys to the reserved sections of the huts – all other parts are free but can be very crowded.
If you're seriously fit then you could knock this route off in three days, but we recommend taking five. Day one is an 11km trek from the trailhead in Kilpisjarvi through forested slopes, around Cahkaljarvi Lake and a long walk in to the Saarijarvi huts. Day two is a big 31km and pretty demanding underfoot over very rocky ground. The day finishes at the hut below Halti.
Although the summit of Halti doesn't look that far away it's a 24km walk to the summit and back on day three. It's not particularly difficult but it can be very cold with bitter winds even in the middle of summer. Days four and five are one and two in reverse.
Trail 2: Pallas Ounastunturi
Location: North west Finland near the village of Hetta
Difficulty: Easy, no problems
How Long: Four Days
What's it like?: This is another very popular hiking trail in the north of Finland. It kicks off with a boat taxi from Hetta across a lake then through a heavily forested area with lots of duckboards over boggy/protected ground. After 5kms the trail ascends the Pyhakero Tunturi and follows the spine of the hills in a southerly direction with great views down to the left and right.
At the halfway point there's a good camping ground, huts and a wilderness sauna by the side of a lake – there's always a lake. The locals show no restraint in their longing to ditch their clothes, sweat it out bollock naked in the sauna and finish off with a cold flurry in the lake – and you should join them.
There's a further short section of woodland before the toughest part of the route kicks in with a big, steep ascent followed by a roller coaster trail up and down a series of tunturi before you come upon a local sami hut selling, of all things, wilderness doughnuts.
Next comes the longest climb of the trail with a climb up and over Pallastunturi (875m) and on to the Pallas Hotel. You can catch a bus here or trek a further 12km through woodland to the Hotel Jeris on the main road.
Trail 3: Bear's Ring
Location: Near the eastern border with Russia. 200 miles north east of Oulu
Nearest airport: Kuusamo
Difficulty: No problems, just great fun.
How long: Four days
What's it like?: This is a fantastic trail that shows off so much of what's good about hiking in Finland; rivers, lakes, woodland, wilderness huts, tanturi and great local company. The trail sets off from two trailheads on the road going north out of Ruka and both can be reached by local bus. On trail one a woodland track takes you to the edge of the Risyikallio Gorge and onto where it crosses a fast flowing river by suspension bridge to join trail two. There are a couple of free huts here in possibly the most idyllic positions in the whole of the country.
Day two is through woodland alongside the Oulankajoki River to the Oulanka visitor centre and café. More woodland trails eventually bring you to the Siilastupa wilderness hut just below an impressive waterfall.
The morning of day three is yet more woodland before you hit the lumpy bits that carry on all the way to Ruka. The hills get progressively steeper but are all decked out with wooden steps. The views from up high are impressive and the recommended stop is at a lean to overlooking a lake about half a mile after you cross a tarmac road – you'll know the one, it is the only one. A couple of hours into day four and you'll be on the long uphill pull on the ski slopes beside Ruka.
Trail 4: Bear's Trail
Location: On the border with Russia, 30km east of Lieska.
Nearest airport: Kuopio
Difficulty: No problem, a great outdoor experience
How long: Six days for the full 133km
What's it like?: The Bears Trail can be trekked in full or you can just pick out a section. Unlike most other trail heads in Finland getting to the start of this route involves. A taxi ride (or walk) from the village of Ruunaa to Patvinsuo Park. What's more interesting are the options at the end of the trail, in Teljio, where you can take a boring old taxi or hire a canoe and ride the river to Nurmijarvi, a town 30kms from Lieksa.
A map of the Bears trail is available from http://www.metsa.fi/ but the route is easy to follow, as the whole 133kms are waymarked with splashes of orange and black paint. There are lean to shelters and huts for overnight accommodation so you'll not need a tent and, as is the lie of the land in Finland, there's water everywhere. You'll also find prepared firewood at every shelter for cooking – what nice people these Finns are.
This is another trail that takes you through forests, alongside fast flowing rivers with rapids and relatively untouched areas with an abundance of wildlife. For example the region between Lake Ruunaa and Russia is inhabited by bear, moose, fox and reindeer.
The trail runs through four national parks, a couple of 1940 battle sites (Russia invaded Finland) where you can still see the bomb craters and trenches.
Trail 5: The E6 and E10 Long distance trails
Location: North, South, East and West
Nearest Airport: Take your pick
Difficulty: No probs if you're into walking across countries
How long: We're talking months here
What's it like?: 'E' routes are long distance European trails that crisis cross the whole of the continent and the E6 and E10 pass through Finland. Both are work in progress and expected to be completed over the next couple of years. However, with a handful of maps and a year off work you'll have no problem.
The E6 runs north south entering Finland near Halti up in the north west from where it heads south east to the Pallastunturi fells. In reality the E6 is just a way of joining up an independent network of paths to make one long one. And to give you an idea as to how long, if you carried on walking to the end of the E6 you'd end up in Crete by way of central Europe and Greece.
The E10 trail, like the E6, is a joined up and soon to be waymarked collection of independent trails run from the Arctic Ocean down the eastern side of Finland and eventually comes to a breathless halt at Gibraltar.
The Finnish section takes in a number of areas covered elsewhere in this feature (Bears Ring, Bears Trail) and the Urho Kekkonen national park (NK) up in the north. The NK is Finland's second largest national park with the northern section consisting of barren Arctic wilderness and fells cut through by ravines, steep slopes and scree.
Let's Go
When to go
Winters are seriously cold and you'd need to appreciate severe suffering and frostbite to go hiking up north during this time of year. The best times to travel are between June and September when the days are long and if you want, you can hike through the night. Mosquitoes are a pain in September and the huts tend to be overflowing in August.
How to get there
Finnair offers the most extensive scheduled network from the UK but tends to be far more expensive than Ryanair who fly into Tampere with prices ranging from 99p plus taxes up to over £100 plus taxes. Finnair operate internal flights to all the regional airports from Helsinki, and that's a good reason to consider using them. http://www.ryannair.com/, http://www.finnair.com/
Travelling around
Car hire is extortionate so it's lucky that the bus and trains are brill. Both run on time and cover just about all the country.
What to take
Pack as you would for a wet, cold day out in the UK hills and then hope for the best. The weather in Finland can be surprisingly warm right through to the end of September even up north, but it can also be bitterly cold.
Where to stay
All the hiking trails mentioned are well serviced with huts and lean to shelters, which mean you do not have to pack a tent. At all the huts we've stayed at there's been supplies of wood for camp fires, or stoves and basic cooking utensils. However we'd recommend packing a cooking kit just in case. For accommodation in towns and cities the local tourist offices are a good source, as is the Lonely Planet guide to Finland. Www.visitfinland.com/uk
Costs
Finland is not cheap. Rail costs are on par with the UK and long distance buses are more expensive than what you'd be used to. Hotels are usually good value in the summer months, restaurants and bars are expensive and supermarkets surprisingly inexpensive.
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