Saariselkä

Saariselkä is a fell area in Lapland, northern Finland. It is located in the Inari, Savukoski and Sodankylä municipalities. The highest point is high Mt Sokosti. The range is mostly two-billion-year-old granulite. The last ice age ended 9500 years ago in Saariselkä.

Tourism

Saariselkä is partly in Urho Kekkonen National Park. The hill area is a popular tourist destination, providing activities such as skiing, hiking and spa. Saariselkä village is located in the area and belongs to the Inari municipality, about above sea level. Kaunispää-fell, rising next to the village, is high.
Many couples want to have a "white wedding" in Lapland in the winter when there is snow everywhere. A couple may come to the chapel in a sledge pulled by husky dogs or reindeer. Pyhän Olavin Kappeli and a small wooden Tievakappeli near Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen in Saariselkä have been popular places for white weddings. Other possible venues include reindeer farms.

Climate

Saariselkä has a subarctic climate with short, cool summers and long, cold winters.

Magnetic hill

Part of the former Finnish Highway 4 in Saariselkä is known nowadays as Magnetic hill. During World War II the road from Rovaniemi to Petsamo was extremely important to the Finns. Petsamo and its harbour was the only open way to the ocean. The hills beside Kaunispää-fjeld are so steep that 1940's trucks could not easily climb them. Folks thought there was some magnetic force in the hill that squeezed all the power out of the motors. After a realignment of Highway 4 that short section was taken out of daily use. It has been declared the "Magnetic Hill Road Museum".