Book of nature

My home village, Äkäslompolo, has always been popular with nature travelers. The fells and forests surrounding the village invite you to ski and hike.

Alongside traditional sports, there are many new modes of exercise and moving in nature. Cross-country cafes, paths and trails are no longer the property of skiers and hikers, nowadays electric bikes, freestyle skiers and snowshoeers can come your way just as often.

New means of transport create new routes and new opportunities. A journey in nature consists of small things. A good rule of thumb is “look but not touch” – especially in the summer. The footprint of the snowshoe in the snow doesn’t weigh much and the free skier in the powder either. But the fat bike on delicate heather plants is another thing.

Nature gives us a lot, but needs a lot right now. Small gestures are needed to keep nature – our sanctuary – pleasant for everyone to walk and watch.

Pave Maijanen sings in his song about yearning: “Like a small fairy tale you believed in as a child, lost is its glow completely. Or like a beautiful landscape that maybe never even existed. ”

To avert the yearning and to maintain the glow, we must move wisely in nature and give space to nature and not to man.

Looking out at the horizon is a memory from the past

Kindred spirits

The story of the village and family of Äkäslompolo dates back to 1748, when the ancestor of the family, Taneli Tanelinpoika and Kirsti Juhontytär, settled in the present Tano house. Äkäslompolo also became the home village of Juho Pudas and Matilda Koskenniemi, when they founded their home in 1878 around the deserted Kaula-farm. The Kaulanen family was born.

As a decendant of both families, Äkäslompolo and Kaulanen, I strongly feel the ties to my ancestors in my blood. For us, the Lappish people, there is no unknown fell at the horizon, nor is there an unknown river flowing through the land, but nature is still here.

Like Taneli once, I too often look at the horizon. I see and experience nature as strong. It gives me great joy. It gives me strength to continue, as I hear the joy of customers on the ice of Lake Äkäslompolo when the Northern Lights are dancing in the sky. The life of Taneli and Juho was harsh, but my life is good. For me all is good, as long as I see joy sparkling in the eyes and red on the cheeks of my guest.

This is how the story of Äkäslompolo continues and it continues as long as you, nature’s friend, come to visit our part of this world.

Thank you for coming, come again.

Find out more about the story of our village in our “Mökkikirja” about kindred spirits.

Thoughts about nature

Eight seasons

Four seasons are not enough in Lapland, as nature changes constantly and rapidly. For example, in spring it is the time for snow to melt and ice to break. In the old days the differences between the times of spring were vital. Some chores could only be done during the short time when the snow cover was strong enough to carry people or reindeer. You had to be awake and aware or you would miss out.

In this “Mökkikirja” we have compiled stories of how the villagers, in the old days, lived with the rythm of the eight seasons. They opened the tracks for tourism in Ylläs and all of Lapland. Nowadays, for many people in the village the eight seasons mirror the rythm of tourist seasons.

One thing has not changed. The Lappish nature gets a grip on people, affects all their senses. It leaves nobody cold. Come for example to Lapland when it’s time for the ice to break on the rivers and feel how the ice also leaves you.

Welcome to a vacation in your own season of the year!

Order our “Mökkikirja”