Hostel Mannila in Finland – not your typical hostel experience

Located at the shores of largest lake in Finland, Hostel Mannila surely has a splendid location. Lake Saimaa and nearby Punkaharju ridge area offers one of the most scenic views in Finland and should be everybody’s to-do list while traveling in the land of midnight sun.

Hostel Mannila is ideal for those yearning for peaceful surroundings. Smell of freshly cut grass and home cooked breakfast are part of an authentic Finnish countryside experience. You can enjoy your stay in red-painted cottages, in a summer hostel or in a hotel. For those who not seek complete isolation, a town of Savonlinna is only 30 kilometres away.

Wide variety of activities offered ensures that no one can get easily bored: skiing tracks start from the door-step in the winter, kayaking in summertime, horse riding and lakeside sauna are just one few activities to be mentioned. Surrounding areas have plenty of sightseeing from war memorials to art exhibitions.

The reception and a restaurant are at the 'Rantakatti' building.

Midsummer is celebrated at Hostel Mannila with a bonfire at the lake.

If you’re looking for a place off-the-beaten track, Hostel Mannila should not be passed. Finnish Lakeland is waiting for you!

P.S. Did you know Lake Saimaa is home for the rarest seal in the world?

Hostel Mannila is open all year around. Book your stay at: www.hihostels.com


Article by Laura H.

Edited 16 February 2015

Lapland, true winter wonderland destination: outdoor activities in Saariselkä

After visiting Lapland's 'capital' Rovaniemi and busy skiing resort Levi, we'll head for peaceful location in Saariselkä.

 

Hostel Ahopää, Saariselkä

Located at the root of one of the most loved national parks in Finland, Hostel Ahopää is a heaven for outdoor fans. The unique wilderness of Lapland is just one step away and beautiful fells invite you to go explore the magic of polar nights…

This area is suitable for a wide range of outdoor activities and the hostel has excellent selection of outdoor activities equipment, including GPS devices, available for hire. The accommodation price includes during the season participation in weekly hikes in the Kiilopää area. You can also choose from the many clearly signposted trails and go exploring your own. And why not try a refreshing dip in a fell brook after the sauna!

Hostel Ahopää has rooms and dorms sleeping 2–6 people. The dorms for male and female guests are separate, with shared toilet facilities just outside the dorms. All guests are welcomed to use the shared kitchen, a bathroom, and sauna facilities in the main building.

Did you know? Urho Kekkonen National Park is named after famous and longest-serving Finnish president, Urho Kekkonen. He was known for his sincere admiration for Lapland’s nature and often chose to spend his holidays in the wilderness. Urho Kekkonen also has been one of the protectors of Hostelling International Finland!

Lapland, true winter wonderland destination: ski and après-ski in Levi

We started our 3-part series of having a look at what Lapland has to offer during winter-time from Rovaniemi, the biggest town in Finnish Lapland. Now we are off to the biggest skiing resort in Finland: Levi.

Levi is a popular holiday destination is bursting with interesting activities such as husky and reindeer sledging, snow mobile safaris, ice karting and ice galleries. From the reception you can rent snowshoes and wonder around in serene beauty. After a day spent in nature you can relax by taking a massage or trying out several delicious restaurants in the area.

Hostel Hullu Poro, Levi

Hostel Hullu Poro is located two kilometres from Levi centre. You can easily arrive to Levi centre from Kittilä airport only in 15 minutes. Hostel has twin bed room apartments, where you have kitchen, common room and a bathroom. One apartment can host four people. You can also book a dorm bed.


National symbol of Lapland: Every year Levi hosts World Cup of Alpine skiing in the most Northern competition location in the world. Starting from 2013 winners are awarded with their very own reindeer and you might see these famous reindeers while visiting Levi!

In the footsteps of Finnish artists: an unforgettable trip to Eastern Finland - Part 3

Finn Kamilla Billiers decided to spend her holiday in Finland instead of travelling abroad. Her destination was Eastern Finland, an area renowned for its rugged landscapes. She let some of the most famous Finnish artists guide her on her journey. The trip was a journey into the heart of Finnish culture. 

This is the final part of the 3 part post. Before this Kamilla has visited the Koli National Park and North Karelian town Joensuu.

Just like granny’s house 

I travelled to Lieksa on the car ferry Pielinen. I was the only passenger on board and took in the beautiful scenery from the comfort of a rather retro-looking orange velvet couch. A tattooed deck boy came in to water the flowers on the windowsill and laughed when I asked about things to do in Lieksa. In the early evening, the small town was quiet and empty.

I walked past a small Orthodox chapel on my way to my accommodation. The Timitra Hostel is located in the Functionalist-style Timitra Castle, which was formerly occupied by a Finnish Border Guard training centre. The hostel is run by an architect who is also a keen collector of Finnish design works, and the interior and decor of the hostel reflects the personal taste of its proprietor. It is not very often that you see Artek furniture or Arabia dishes in a hostel.

Timitra Hostel in Lieksa is furnished with Finnish design.

When it was time for dinner, the atmosphere in the shared kitchen was relaxed. There was an older couple who were on their way to Pankakoski because the wife, a former pianist, once used to play a song by that name. I sipped my tea and watched steaming hot focaccia being lifted out of the oven.

On the final day of my trip, I explored the sights in and around Lieksa. The Pielinen Museum is Finland’s second-largest open-air museum, and its oldest buildings date from the 17th century. There are so many types of houses, barns, and saunas that you do not know where to look. The houses reminded me of my granny’s house, with all sorts of old tools and dishes hanging on the wall. Among other things, I saw a sledge and an old butter churn. When I reached the old shed, I took a deep breath to enjoy the lovely smell of tar.

After visiting the museum, I would have liked to see sculptor Eeva Ryynänen’s most famous creation – the Paateri timber church, with its magnificent wooden decorations. Unfortunately, it was 50 kilometres away, and I did not have a car. There is next to no public transport in that part of the country. As a keen cyclist, Inha would, no doubt, have cycled to Paateri in no time, but I had to settle for a walk to the railway station.

TEXT & PHOTOS: KAMILLA BILLIERS

Read the previous articles of the 3-part post: 
1. Visiting the North Karelian town Joensuu
2. Visiting the Koli National Park

In the footsteps of Finnish artists: an unforgettable trip to Eastern Finland - Part 2

Finn Kamilla Billiers decided to spend her holiday in Finland instead of travelling abroad. Her destination was Eastern Finland, an area renowned for its rugged landscapes. She let some of the most famous Finnish artists guide her on her journey. The trip was a journey into the heart of Finnish culture. 

This is part 2 of the 3 part post. Before this new destination Kamilla visited the North Karelian town Joensuu.

In good company 

I took a taxi from Joensuu to Koli. An hour later and I was walking toward one of the most famous landscapes in Finland with a newly purchased map in hand. After a few kilometres, I reached the summit of the Mäkrä hill. The views over Lake Pielinen have been said to embody the essence of Finnish identity better than anything else, and now that I have been there, I have to agree.

The pine trees and hills could have been from a Järnefelt painting, and I could hear echoes of Sibelius’s Fourth Symphony. It is easy to see why artists inspired by Karelianism and National Romanticism flocked to Eastern Finland, especially Karelia, in search of a national identity. The breathtaking view was like a painting. Landscape photography is great in that nature is perfect in itself, without any gimmicks. The orange tree trunks, dappled with summer sunshine, were crying out to be sketched and painted. But I am no Järnefelt, so I got up and left.

As I was walking down the hillside, I saw a red squirrel. We stared at each other for a moment before the squirrel let out an un-squirrel-like roar and hurled itself up a spruce. Have you ever heard a squirrel growl? Me neither, until then.

The big, knobbly roots of the spruce trees made me want to curl up between them, lie still, and listen to the sighs and whispers of the woods. Unfortunately, a huge swarm of mosquitoes also decided to stop for a while at the same spot, and the mosquitoes made it clear what they thought of me being there, so I had to carry on toward the most famous summits of the Koli range. The rocks at the summit of Ukko-Koli are worn smooth. I wonder how many hands have touched them over the years. A metal plaque had some letters engraved in it: ‘Ripa, Anu, and Veka were here.’ It is said that Järnefelt himself carved his name into the wall of a cave known locally as the Devil’s Church.

I rounded off the day with a visit to the village of Koli. On my way there, I came across an environmental art exhibition in the middle of the woods. Some of the pieces are apparent to only the perceptive visitor. A few birches have had some of their bark removed. When you look at these trees from the right angle, the areas where the bark has been notched out form a small circle, like a pale winter sun. I popped into the gallery of an English artist, and we talked for a while about the intricate lines of Japanese wood carvings.


TEXT & PHOTOS: KAMILLA BILLIERS


Next Kamilla travelled to Lieksa. 

In the footsteps of Finnish artists: an unforgettable trip to Eastern Finland - Part 1

Finn Kamilla Billiers decided to spend her holiday in Finland instead of travelling abroad. Her destination was Eastern Finland, an area renowned for its rugged landscapes. She let some of the most famous Finnish artists guide her on her journey. The trip was a journey into the heart of Finnish culture. 

This is part 1 of the 3 part post.

Kamilla enjoying the evening sun.

While he was staying in Italy in the late 19th century, author Juhani Aho wrote about his longing for his native Finland, especially its majestic trees and lake landscapes.

Indeed, the desire to travel to Eastern Finland, to see the deep blue lakes and pine trees reaching for the sky from the summits of the many hills, is nothing new. In addition to Aho, composer Jean Sibelius, painter Eero Järnefelt, and photographer I.K. Inha all spent time in the area about a century ago. You can still see the breathtaking views from the Koli hill toward Lake Pielinen in your mind’s eye when you listen to the music of Sibelius, for example.

So, I put on some music by Sibelius and set off on my summer trip to Eastern Finland. When I arrived in Joensuu, I bought a Karelian pasty with butter and wandered around the town, soaking up the atmosphere of North Karelia. Someone was playing the kantele nearby.

I stopped by the North Karelian Provincial Museum and was told that I had just missed a guided tour led by a singing lady in a traditional Karelian costume. Elias Lönnrot passed through these parts when he was collecting material for the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic.

I found a bed at the nearest hostel, the Scouts’ Youth Hostel. I hired a creaky old bicycle and made my way to the Linnunlahti arboretum. However, the exotic trees there did not satisfy my yearning for quintessential Finnish landscapes, and I decided to go to the nearby beach, set against a backdrop of comfortingly familiar, solid Finnish pine trees. The water in Lake Pyhäselkä was lovely and warm.

As I watched cumulus clouds sail across the blue sky, I found myself humming Jukka Kuoppamäki’s ‘Sininen ja valkoinen’, as much of a cliché as that may seem. Well, I am not the first visitor to have found inspiration there over the years. I went back to the hostel and ended up admiring the impressively well-organised recycling system: there were separate, large bins for each type of waste, all clearly labelled in three languages.

The next morning, I woke up to a sunny day. I had morning coffee in a green patio area and chatted with one of the other guests, a middle-aged librarian, about Finland’s mediaeval stone churches. After breakfast, I was back on my trusty bike to visit the Noljakanmäki Natura area and the nature reserve on the estuary of the Höytiäinen canal. The bird-watching tower on the Höytiäinen estuary was voted the best in Finland in 2002, and it offers a commanding view over the lush landscape.

On the way to the bird-watching tower.

I tried in vain to capture all the different shades of green with my camera. Inha did not have this problem – he was taking black-and-white pictures and could concentrate on the sweeping landscape itself. At least my pocket camera does fit in my pocket, whereas Inha needed three assistants to help with his equipment. When I was leaving, something flew past me, letting out a screech and disappearing from view before I got a good look at it. I think I might have seen a curlew, but I am not sure.

TEXT & PHOTOS: KAMILLA BILLIERS


Next Kamilla travelled to Koli National Park. 

Back to nature! Hostelling International Finland's tips for lovers of the great outdoors

HI hostels offer a wide range of accommodation all year round for visitors who want to experience the unique Finnish nature. Whether you want to enjoy the best of the great outdoors without giving up modern comforts or embark on an unforgettable hiking trip on the fells of Finnish Lapland, our hostels offer accommodation options to suit all tastes and budgets. We have picked some of our favourites that are perfect for nature‑lovers.

Photo credits: Vitaliy Glushchenko, Visit Finland 

Timitra Hostel, Lieksa

Timitra is a unique design hostel located in a former training centre of the Finnish Border Guard and surrounded by beautiful nature. The view from the beach sauna of this family-owned hostel opens out over the magnificent Lake Pielinen, and, true to Karelian traditions, the hostel offers a warm welcome to everyone and has won accolades for its tasty menus, which use locally sourced, organic ingredients. The clean and spacious rooms guarantee a peaceful night’s sleep, ensuring that you will be ready for the next day’s adventures.

The Lieksa area offers excellent opportunities for diverse outdoor pursuits, including canoeing, bird watching, fishing, white-water rafting, hiking, and skiing. Koli, Ruunaa, Patvinsuo, and the Karhunpolku trail are only a few examples of what the area has to offer for hikers and walkers. The Rukajärvi road, starting in Lieksa, and the beautiful Änäkäinen area offer a lot to see for visitors interested in Finnish military history.

The hostel has single and double rooms and dorms sleeping 4–5 people. Some of the rooms are hotel standard with en-suite bathrooms. You can book breakfast in the hostel bistro or use the hostel’s shared kitchen. The hostel is around 1.5 kilometres from the Lieksa town centre and ideally situated for convenient use of its services.

Hostel Visatupa, Raudanjoki

Hostel Visatupa, named Hostel of the Year in 2012, is situated in an idyllic lakeside location in the village of Raudanjoki, in the southern part of the municipality of Sodankylä. While Visatupa is a working dairy farm, the proprietors also have several decades’ experience of providing accommodation services.

There is a lot to see and do at Visatupa all year round. In the autumn, for example, guests can go cloudberry-picking in the nearby bogs. The hostel’s friendly service and tasty home-cooked food have won accolades from visitors from all over the world, and guests also have an opportunity to see how a modern dairy farm works. In the summer, you can go fishing on a bike, and in the winter, you can go cross-country skiing or snowshoeing under the Northern Lights. After a busy day, you can relax in the beach sauna and make pancakes in a traditional Lapland-style hut. The staff at Visatupa are also happy to arrange trips other to nearby areas, such as the Pyhä-Luosto area, the Arctic Circle, and Rovaniemi, on request.

Accommodation is available in three separate buildings, and you can choose from rooms sleeping 2–4 people and apartments sleeping 4–6 people. All apartments have a kitchen, fridge, shower, toilet, and sauna. Guests staying in the rooms have access to a large lounge, a kitchen, and bathrooms in the common areas. Visatupa offers accommodation on a full-board or half-board basis.

Hostel Ahopää, Saariselkä

Hostel Ahopää is a dream destination for all lovers of the great outdoors. Right at the edge of the Urho Kekkonen National Park, the hostel offers an ideal base for exploring the unique fell landscape of Finnish Lapland. Whether you are visiting to enjoy the midnight sun or to experience the polar night, the Kiilopää area offers lots to do all year round. The price of accommodation includes use of the sauna in the evenings. And why not try a refreshing dip in a fell river after the sauna? For those who are after a more exotic sauna experience, a traditional smoke sauna is available three times a week, for a separate fee.

Photo credits: Suomen Latu Kiilopää

This area is suitable for a wide range of outdoor activities, and the hostel has a selection of equipment, including GPS devices, available for hire. The accommodation price includes participation in weekly hikes in the Kiilopää area. You can also choose from the many clearly signposted trails and go for a walk or hike on your own or go geocaching.

The hostel has rooms and dorms sleeping 2–6 people. The dorms for male and female guests are separate, with shared toilet facilities just outside the dorms. All guests are welcome to use the shared kitchen, bathroom, and sauna facilities in the main building.

Hostel Hirvikoski, Toholampi

Hostel Hirvikoski is situated on the upper reaches of the River Lestijoki in the village of Sykäräinen, in the Central Ostrobothnia region. At Hostel Hirvikoski, you have the great outdoors on your doorstep, and the surrounding area offers plenty to see for visitors who love beautiful, untamed wilderness, white-water rapids, and bogs. 

More than half of the municipality of Toholampi is bog land, and the beautiful Ostrobothnian heritage landscape is best explored by bike. There are several lean-to shelters in the area, so even longer day hikes can be completed comfortably. The River Lestijoki, which flows through the entire municipality, is a dream destination for anglers. The river is also popular with canoeists.

The hostel has single and double rooms, with shared toilet and shower facilities. The price of a room includes breakfast, so you don’t have to worry about preparing breakfast. Other meals can be prepared in the shared kitchen or booked in advance from the restaurant.

Book your stay directly from the hostel or at www.hihostels.com

Delicious moment on Lake Saimaa

Summertime in Hostel Ukonlinna is all about swimming, sauna bathing and enjoying pure nature as well as the perfect combination of coffee and homemade doughnuts!

You can crab coffee from the hostel cafe and just enjoy the great view on a sandy beach. Ukonlinna offers a nice place to relax also for kayakers.

The cafe is famous for its homemade doughnuts. Hostel owners mother Kaarina reveals that the recipe has remained the same for the last 50 years.

Kaarina likes helping her son at the hostel.

"I love early mornings when the birds are singing and the day is just starting. Then I start washing saunas!"

Lapland is the home of Hostel of the Year 2012 in Finland

Hostelling International Finland has selected Visatupa, in the southern Sodankyla in Lapland, as Hostel of the Year 2012. Visatupa, which primarily functions as a dairy farm, has provided accommodation to tourists and travellers for over 30 years.

‘The fact that the majority of hostels are found in cities and tourist centres today makes us all the more pleased to have excellent countryside destinations such as Visatupa still in our network,’ says Hostelling International Finland Secretary General Ari J. Aalto. The association wishes to thank Visatupa for its long-term efforts to promote countryside tourism in Lapland, its active work on the local level, and its comprehensive range of services backed by a network of local businesses. Many regular customers visiting from Central Europe and even from Japan praise Visatupa’s ability to provide unforgettable experiences.

Visatupa is a family enterprise headed by Janne Sammalkangas. Three generations of the Sammalkangas family live on the farm: Janne, with his wife; their two toddlers; and Janne’s parents, the ones who started the accommodation business. The new generation stepped in a few years ago when Vilho and Milka Sammalkangas, the original proprietors, handed the business down to their son.

Janne Sammalkangas accepted the award at the Finnish Hostel Managers' Meeting in Helsinki

Visatupa provides its guests with a full experience of Finland that even many native Finns may not yet have encountered. In addition to nature, one of Visatupa’s greatest charms is its excellent food. Janne describes it as ‘simple home food’, but having reindeer, venison roast, or salmon and perhaps some home-made cheese for lunch is far from the regular Finnish fare. Picking berries in the woods is another tasty experience.

For years, Visatupa’s customers have praised the peaceful and cosy atmosphere, the proximity to nature, and the delicious food. Many of them, however, find that the most memorable experience has been the warm and friendly welcome given to them by the Sammalkangas family.