Salla National Park, National park in Eastern Lapland, Finland
Salla National Park is a protected area in Eastern Lapland, Finland, covering dense conifer forests, open fells, deep ravines, and wide boggy terrain. The park borders Russia to the east, and its landscape shifts from low wetlands to treeless ridges as you move further in.
The area became a national park in 2022, making it one of Finland's newest protected territories. Before that, the land had been home to people since prehistoric times, and traces of World War II military activity can still be found on the ground.
The park sits within a region where Sámi people have herded reindeer for generations, and reindeer still roam freely across the fells today. Visitors walking the trails often come across these animals, which gives the place a feeling of living tradition rather than a frozen past.
The park has marked trails for hiking in summer and for skiing or snowshoeing in winter, so the experience changes considerably depending on the season you visit. Accommodation and supplies are available in nearby villages, and it is worth checking what is open before heading out.
Although the park was only established in 2022, some of the land within it had been largely untouched for decades before gaining protected status. This long period without major human activity left behind a forest structure that researchers find particularly worth studying.
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