We walk through a landscape painted in white, and with every step, the delicate crunch of tiny ice crystals breaking beneath our feet can be heard. That sound, gentle and at the same time a little squeaky, happens to be oddly one of the most pleasant sensations. We move in single file, advancing in unison without hurry, but without pausing, while the pale winter light comforts us as much as it can in this season: 20 degrees below zero, the cold makes the undertaking far from easy. At least, we are outfitted with snowshoes and trekking poles.
At the head of this particular procession is Esa, our guide from Ylläs Experiences. A witty, talkative youngster with a passion for his homeland, he manages to infect us and move us in equal measure with his storytelling and his eagerness to share it with the world. Around us, the landscape shines, pristine, among snow-dusted treetops and frozen rivers. “75% of Finland is covered by forests, and some of the oldest ones, more than three thousand years old, are here, in Ylläs,” he reveals to us.
In the Remote Reaches of Finland
We had just landed a few hours earlier, after a brief layover in Helsinki, in this singular Finnish region that unfolds at the very edge of the country. A remote place where they boast the purest air in the world and the days, in winter, last barely four hours. We find ourselves, to name one fact, 115 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and about 200 kilometers from Rovaniemi. Just placing our feet in this corner of Scandinavia, it occurs to us that the best way to begin exploring the terrain is to dive into the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, the third largest in Finland. Yes, we have come to give it our all.
Taking into account that Ylläs has barely 1,200 inhabitants who live there year-round, it would be logical to think that running into neighbors in the middle of the forest wouldn’t be very common. A gross error: the locals’ passion for snow-related activities has led to an extensive network of trails that covers, mind you, 500 kilometers devoted to cross-country skiing, and as many for snowmobiles, hiking, or dogsledding. Trails more frequented than we could have imagined, where the signs, as if on a highway, warn which mode of transport has priority. A parallel universe, detached from cars.
