Lapland is taiga – a vast, wild and very sparsely inhabited region with endless, softly rolling hills covered in coniferous forest. Like an Emmentaler cheese, the forest is broken by many thousands of lakes and bogs. As you travel north, the average altitude of the land rises, while the treeline drops, leaving increasingly large areas of uplands with a treeless, tundra-like landscape. They are commonly known als fjells, but called tunturi in Finnish. Kuusamo in the far south is by contrast lusher and more densely forested. The land is fissured with cliffs and bisected with wild rivers.

Most of Finnish Lapland lies above the Arctic Circle, making this the land of the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter. It is also the land of mirror-like lakes inhabited by lonely Black-throated Divers. On the one hand, this is an introverted place of solitude with sober forests which border on being sombre. On the other hand, and in striking contrast, this land is tremendously exciting due to its spectacular wildlife with Brown Bears, Great Grey Owls, Lady’s-slipper Orchids and Red-flanked Bluetails. On top of this there is the fascinating ethnic component of the indigenous Saami culture. In short, Lapland has enough to keep you spellbound for many nightless weeks. And fortunately so, for it’s a long haul from the nearest beaten track.

The taiga forest

The taiga is Lapland’s dominant ecosystem. In the southern half, much of the forest is commercial, with sizable but comparatively small areas of old or even old-growth (‘primeval’) stands. Towards the north there are immense reserves in which all forest is old-growth and disturbed or commercial forest is the exception. In contrast, due to the more benign climate the natural forests in the south appear much lusher and more abundant than the northern forests.

The taiga in Finland has two  dominant trees: the Scots Pine and the Norway Spruce. The latter occurs here in a very slender form – an adaptation to deal with the massive winter snow load. In comparison, the spruce is stronger than the pine, but the pine is hardier, especially in rocky, shallow soils. This means that even in the deep south, the pine is the dominant species except in secluded forests and river valleys. Lush spruce forests become increasingly rare further north and gives up the struggle altogether about halfway up in Lapland. Throughout the forests, there is a thin scatter of birch (mostly a pioneer species), Trembling Aspen and Goat Willow – all very important for wildlife.

The tunturi or fjells

Large areas of open fjells characterise the northern part of Lapland. Coniferous forests are limited to the valleys, an open and gnarled scrubland of birches climbs up to the flanks from there, but the uplands are covered in subarctic heathlands, alternating with scree fields in the slopes and boggy terrain in the depressions. The harsh climate of these uplands is not just a matter of air temperature alone. The strong winter winds blow away the protective snow layer in winter, leaving all taller plants susceptible to frostbite. This is the main reason for the lack of trees other than the stunted, ground-hugging forms of the birches on the slopes.

These tunturi are the southern outliers of the Arctic flora of northern Norway and northern Siberia. There are arctic butterflies here, but above all, this is an important breeding ground for the birds of the far north especially waders (Temminck’s Stint, Jack Snipe, Red-necked Phalarope, Golden Plover, Dotterel), Arctic Skua, Gyr Falcon and Rough-legged Buzzard.

Lakes and rivers

Lakes come in endless shapes and sizes in Lapland. They are covered in ice from the start of winter until deep into spring. The extremely cold water and the long period of ice cover make these lakes a hostile environment for many plants and animals. For that reason, many lakes have fewer organisms and less diversity than those in southern Finland. An exception is where rivers flow into the lakes. Such places are much richer in food and thus attracts more organisms. Moreover, the force of the flow breaks up the ice much earlier in the year than elsewhere and migrating birds in spring first occupy these food-rich, ice-free spots before spreading out to their breeding grounds.

Also, the quieter, boggy or (very locally) reedy parts attract wildflowers and birds.

On the north slopes it reaches almost down to sea level, but on the south side it reaches no lower than 700 metres above sea level. This zone attracts a wide variety of birds especially in the barrancos. Most villages are situated in this zone, which makes the natural vegetation here more threatened than the rest.

Bogs

When the land ice retreated after the last ice age, it left a rolling landscape with countless depressions. They filled up with water, and many of these lakes developed into bogs.
Bogs are frozen stiff for much of the year and soggy and waterlogged for the rest. It is too wet for trees, except perhaps a few stunted pines on the driest parts. Bogs are naturally poor in nutrients, although the edges of it are often slightly richer due to the runoff water from the nearby hills. The core, by contrast, is usually very poor, with shallow bog lakes and lots of peat mosses.

In Lapland, two types of bogs or mires dominate. In southern and central Lapland you’ll find Aapa mires, many of which are very large and have ribbons of drier land that separate large wet ‘basins’. In the north you’ll find Palsa mires; large bogs characterised by peat mounds that cover huge chunks of ice. Many wetland birds breed in the immense and impenetrable bogs, and they are also home to many of Lapland’s rare butterflies, dragonflies and wildflowers.

The naturalist top 10

Ten highlights of your visit to exploring Finnish Lapland and Kuusamo.

Finnish Lapland has a superb network of trails, huts, hides, visitors’ centres and other facilities for nature-minded travellers. Lapland may be a wilderness, but you are provided with all modern conveniences you need to help you explore it. Within Lapland and Kuusamo there are, besides numerous smaller nature reserves, seven National Parks. From south to north, these are Syöte, Oulanka, Riisituntiri, Pallas-Yllästunturi, Uhro-Kekkonen en Lemmenjoki. All have good visitor facilities. In addition to these parks, there are wilderness areas that have fewer facilities but are certainly as beautiful.

In Finland, everymans’ right is protected by law; this means that everyone is allowed to walk the land, regardless of the owner (there are restrictions regarding the distance to houses and rules regarding how to behave, of course). This gives you a huge amount of freedom, but also the responsibility to use it wisely (see below).

Sustainable tourism

• Inform yourself before visiting a wildlife site (websites, visitor centres, tourist information, etc.).
• Use local guides and buy local, organic produce.
• Check the tide table when you plan to visit coastal locations.
• Keep your distance from cliff edges.
• Keep your distance from any wildlife especially to breeding birds. This particularly pertains to birds on the fells and palsa mires, which are easily disturbed.
• Watch where you step to avoid trampling flowers or nests of ground breeding birds.
• Bring your rubbish home.
• Stay on trails (especially in sensitive areas like fells and bogs).

The book

The Crossbill Guides are the most comprehensive nature travel guides available. Each Crossbill Guide has in-depth descriptions  of the landscape, habitats, geology and all the species groups found in each region and links these to routes where they can be seen.

These routes are typically a mixture of itineraries on foot and by car with stops and short walks. Combined, these routes cover all the best sites for birds, mammals, butterflies, dragonflies and wildflowers. They are also set out to give you the finest examples of the ecosystems and geological features. In short, everything for nature lovers.

The volume that covers Finnish Lapland also covers Oulanka and Syöte National Parks near Kuusamo.

• 224 pages
• 22 detailed routes
• 27 site descriptions