Being the northernmost country in Europe, Finland has a very cold climate. Certain areas of other European countries such as Norway and Sweden are located further north than Finland. It is special that the territory of Finland lies almost entirely north of 60 north latitude.

It can also be observed that one third of the country is located in the Arctic Circle. There are many wonderful tourism events located in Finland, which has a very cold climate. From now on, you will be told about the wonders of Finland.

1) Kemi Snow Palace

Beautiful Finland receives heavy snowfall. Therefore, every year in winter, a snow palace is created in the city of Kemi, Finland. A church, a restaurant, and a hotel are also being built in that wonderful snow palace, which was first built in 1996. The ice tables and seats inside the snow restaurant are covered in reindeer fur and look very elegant.

At the restaurant, you can enjoy fresh food such as fried chicken, baked potatoes, cranberry mousse cake, and Finnish berry pie. Also, if desired, a couple can book the hotel located inside the palace to hold their wedding ceremony.

Most of the 100,000 tourists who visit the snow palace every year spend the night in this beautiful hotel. The snow palace that beautifies the Kemi region throughout the winter has now become a very popular place among tourists.

2) Gateway to the Arctic 

About 1/3 of Finland’s total land area lies within the Arctic Circle. The city of Rovaniemi in northern Finland is called the Gateway to the Arctic because the Arctic Circle passes through it. The beautiful area is full of tourists in summer.

That is because the sunlight hits the area 24 hours a day in summer. The way in which that unique phenomenon occurs is given below.

The arctic or antarctic circle is the area located more than 66 1/2 north or south latitude from the equator.

Depending on the position of the earth, at some times of the year the sun rises at an angle of more than 90 degrees. That is below the horizon. Accordingly, there is no ‘sun rise’ in practice.

For example, if we consider a location in the northern circle, when the sun rises to the Tropic of Capricorn, the angle the sun makes to that area increases to 90 degrees. Then, simply put, the sun will not rise for days.

The opposite of this phenomenon is experienced in the Tropic of Cancer when the sun rises. In other words, the sun does not set even in the middle of the night in those countries.

Then you can see how the sun reaches the horizon and rises again the next day. That is simply the phenomenon of the midnight sun. Also, the period in which the sun does not rise for 24 hours in the northern part of Finland is known as ‘Polar Nights’. People living in Rovaniemi enjoy outdoor activities even at night when the midnight sun shines.

During that time, they engage in activities such as boating, swimming, fishing, and mountain climbing. Finnish people don’t forget to party and have fun in the middle of the night. Accordingly, many people travel to Rovaniemi in Finland during the midnight sunrise and have fun.

3) Best area to see the colorful Northern Lights

The Northern Lights are a mind-boggling collection of lights that run here and there and make patterns in the northern sky in countries near the North Pole. This is a phenomenon that occurs when charged particles emitted from the sun collide with the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere and the energy contained in them turns into photons.

These lights are usually seen mostly in light green and pink colors. In addition to that, it has been reported that the northern lights appeared in red, yellow, green, blue and purple colors. These lights appear in different shapes and can be seen in the form of specks, granules, curved structures, dancing waves or beams scattered in the sky.

The northern part of Finland is called Lapland. Generally, many people go to Lapland to see the Northern Lights. Although the northern lights occur throughout the year, the best time to see them is in winter. When winter comes, the sun hardly shines in Lapland. At that time, the night time is longer.

Then many tourists flock to Lapland to see the Northern Lights. Generally the northern lights are best seen in Finland from December to March. Many tourists who come to Lapland at that time say that after seeing the Northern Lights, a dream of their life has come true.

4) Lemenyoki National Park

Lemenyoki National Park is one of the most beautiful places in Finland. It covers an area of 2,589 square kilometers

has. In that national park, you can see plants adapted to the arctic climate. Generally, foreign tourists who come here like to walk in the park to see the wonderful plant species.

For those who want to stay for a few days in this wonderful park, facilities have been provided. Accordingly, some tourists stay in special tents and enjoy the wonder of the park.Lemenyoki National Park – peakvisor

The Lemanyoki river flowing through the park is also popular among tourists. That is because tourists get the opportunity to go on a boat ride along the river. As well as the wonderful boat ride, the special hiking trails in the park are also popular among tourists.

Animals such as brown bears, wolves, eagles, elk and deer can be seen in this park. People who stay and spend time in the park will have the opportunity to see the animals without difficulty.

5) Sumenlinna Fort

The history of Sumenlinna, one of the main fortresses located in Finland, dates back to 1748. At that time, Finland was under Swedish rule. At that time, the Finnish rulers built this wonderful sea fortress to protect themselves from Soviet Russian enemies.

It took many years to complete the construction of this fort, which was started with the intervention of Augustus Ehrensward, who was a Swedish admiral. Covering an area of 210 hectares, this fort is spread over 6 small islands.

Consisting of around 200 buildings with protective walls, the fort stretches for 6 kilometers. It is special that there is even a tunnel defense system in this fort, which is built according to military architectural techniques. The fort, which was built following the modern defense tactics of the time, was continuously preserved.

Therefore, even after the wars, the parties who owned the fort maintained it well. Today, this historical fortress, which has become an ancient heritage in Finland, is the most popular place among tourists. Here you can get a good understanding of the war tactics used in those days. In this way, UNESCO declared the fort as a world heritage since 1991.