Attractions

Kaldoaivi wilderness area

The biggest wilderness area in Finland

Kaldoaivi Wilderness Area

Kaldoaivi Wilderness Area is located in the northernmost end of Lapland. Kaldoaivi is well suited for wilderness trekking, mostly consisting of highland in the altitude of approximately 200 – 300 metres. It is treeless or grows thin fell birch forest. The wilderness area is a dream destination for any fishing enthusiasts: there lives abundance of fish in the many rivers, brooks and lakes of the large area. For safety reasons as well as for comfort, we recommend exploring Kaldoaivi with a local guide.

The wilderness area has been inhabited since the end of the last Ice Age. Catching the wild reindeer, fishing and hunting were the earliest sources of livelihood. Later, reindeer herding replaced catching the wild reindeer.

There are no permanent inhabitants in the wilderness area but the area is still used for different livelihoods. There are many buildings for temporary use: fishing cottages of the Koltta Sámi people, reindeer herders’s cabins, open wilderness huts and rental huts. In the old maps, you can see many cabins of willow grouse hunters, fishing cottages and other huts which have been built in the old days for hunting and fishing trips lasting for weeks. These buildings have deteriorated in process of time, being no longer in use. The local people still go fishing and willow grouse huntingin the traditional way, but often they go home for the night.

 

 

Location