Kilpisjarvi is one of my highlights in this trip. It is definately one of the town which is underrated, and yet accessible via public transport.
It was at this town that I first encountered the Northern Lights, where I enjoy the remoteness the town offers and to have such a great bird eye view from Saana.
After a 7 hours of bus ride from Rovaniemi , I'm finally here in Kilpisjarvi, which is known in Finland for its clean mountain air!
It is also perfect to watch Northern Lights due to the altitude, polar nights and no light pollution, hence earning the title 'The Northern Lights Route' between the 200 km long route along the Finnish - Swedish border between Kilpisjarvi and Muonio.
View of the frozen lake from my log cabin when the sun was about to set.
The lake was frozen and was totally safe to step on. Did I mention that the lake was vast?!?!!
On the second day, I decided to tackle Saana.
Saana's summit lies 1,029 metres (3374 ft) above sea level and 556 m (1824 ft) above the adjacenet Kilpisjarvi lake. Geologically it is part of the Scanadinavian Mountains and was historically considered sacred to the Sami people.
The peak is a popular destination for hikers and backpackers because of the sweeping views offered at the summit.
I took about 6 hours for the return journey to the summit of Saana and it was really exhausting.
The climb up was tedious due to the snow and the temperature.
Halfway up and not knowing how long more it will take to reach the summit.
It was this cold.
Stopping halfway to admire the view of Norway. Norway and Sweden can be seen from this viewpoint! However, it's all white so it makes identifying the countries a rather hard job.
After 4 hours of climb, I'm finally at the summit! Everything below me is white, and it was such a unbelievable view from top. Without a doubt, I'm curious how would the scenery looks like when it's spring.
While it took me 4 hours to climp up, it took me another 2 hours to make the descend, which was equally tough on my pair of legs. The thick pile of soft snow doesn't help and in fact, worsen the descend.
And there, I'm back! I was so exhausted by the time I reach the restaurant, and yet I was so proud of myself. Also, I'm very glad to have witness such a impressive view.
To reward myself, I went for a good sauna that night.
And guess what!
I saw the northern lights during midnight too! This was a lucky photo because I didn't see it with my own lights and was just trying out my camera. AND. There it is, in my camera!
I was so elated to be able to freeze that moment into forever.
During the next day, I was due to return to Rovaniemi in the afternoon. So... I've decided to join a tour to visit the Three Country cairn! I would love to walk there from my accommodation but as it was winter, it will be advisable to join a tour instead.
The Three Country Cairn is the point at which the international orders of Sweden, Norway and Finland meet, ad the name of the monument that marks the point.
Here I'm, existing in Sweden and Norway while my photo is taken from Sweden. xD
Expenses:
Transportation (return ticket to Rovaniemi) : €145.80
Three Country Cairns: €55
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