As a final chord of our North-Finnish trip we decided to visit the Ruka Ski Resort. It is located close to Oulanka National Park.
Nature
In Winter this place is crowded, but in August it looks like a ghost-town. But to enjoy nature you don’t need crowds of people around.
Hotels and restaurants were empty. However, it was still possible to go up to the top of the mountain, and so we did.
We met several reindeers on the way. Even though by that time we got used to have them around, we still found them adorable. In the Ruka Ski Resort we saw this cute yet still dangerous animals from the shortest distance. We didn’t risk to touch them though.
Way up the mountain
To get up we could hike. It would take quite a while, so we decided to take a cable car instead. The view was amazing!
On the top of the mountain we found a place to have some rest and eat something. As always in Finland, well thought-through.
The view from there was fabulous!
In fact this cabin is a part of the trekking trail o the National Park Oulanka.
Going down
We enjoyed the view for a while and had to go back. Our friend offered an unusual way to go down. I (Anna) was pretty scared, because I am a chicken when it concerns anything slightly fast or high. However, when else I would have a chance to do that? So that’s what we chose as our way down:
It took us several minutes to get down. The sledges are completely safe, even kids can ride them. There is a rage that controls the speed and it is very easy to use it.
I was a bit afraid to wheel out of the track, so I pulled the breaks at some hairpin turns, but as a result I got stuck a couple of times and could not get a higher speed in the end.
So if you decided to ride this sledges, don’t be afraid to speed up 🙂
After Ruka Ski Resort it was time to pack our bags and head to the South of the country. Check out our next post to read more.
P.S. A huge thanks to our friend Tiina who organised and actually made this trip possible. We truly enjoyed our time there and had a lot of fun! Kiitos! 🙂