Enjoy the fresh autumn air of the Finnish forest, listen to the silence and see the beautiful autumn colours. Have a lunch break by the open fire and eat fresh berries straight from the hammock. Cycle and hike in the unspoilt wilderness of Martinselkonen nature protection area and Hossa National Park. Feel the closeness of Russian border. Escape the everyday hustle to the silence and peace of the beautiful Finnish wilderness.
Duration: 7 day’s/ 6 nights
Persons: 2-9 persons
Daily program:
Day 1 Arrival
Guide will welcome you at Kajaani/Kuusamo airport in the evening. Two hours transfer by car to Martinselkonen Wilds Centre. Accommodation in twin rooms. Dinner is served at the dining area.
Day 2 Cycling day in Martinselkonen
After breakfast we will get to know the Fat Bikes and the guide will help us to get right adjustments to our bikes. Then we will leave for the days adventure by cycling the Fat Bikes in sand roads, forest trails and maybe you can also try your balance in the narrow wooden duckboards. We will see beautiful lake and forest sceneries and enjoy lunch by the open fire.
Dinner and evening sauna in Martinselkonen.
Day 3 Hiking day in Hossa National Park
Breakfast in the morning. After breakfast we will have about 45 minutes transfer by car to Hossa National Park.
Hossa National Park
Hossa National Park is the 40th National Park in Finland. It had the official opening in June 2017. Hossa offers beautiful sceneries shaped by the Ice Age. Hossa is the meeting point for three waterways; there are a lot of lakes and rivers, some with crystal clear water. Hossa is an old Sámi hunting ground. There is old rock painting and remains of dwellings, some almost 10 000 years old.
Hiking day in Hossa includes two trails that we are going to conquer. The first longer one (about 8km) it’s taking us to see the ancient rock paintings. After this hike we will enjoy outdoor lunch by the open fire. The second trail about 5km is taking us to see the beautiful Julma-Ölkky canyon lake. Even this is a shorter track it’s more demanding since it has deep climbs.
After the hike return to Martinselkonen by car. Dinner and evening sauna at Martinselkonen.
Day 4 Cycling day in Hossa
Cycling day in Hossa we can choose from two trails which one we want to do. In the morning you can choose an easy 10km trail suitable for everyone or the most difficult one that is 12,5km long. The 10km trail has no large altitude differences and it goes partly on the road. For the 12,5km route you need to have previous experience of mountain biking. There is some deep climbs and trail can be slippery in rainy days. After the first trail we will enjoy lunch at the Hossa Visitor Centre. After lunch we will move to another location where starts a 14km lake trail. This trail has some places that are demanding. The trail goes in beautiful lake scenery and mainly in small forest trails. During the cycling days we will use Fat Bikes.
Dinner and evening sauna at Martinselkonen.
Day 5 East Border Hiking trail
East border hiking trail leaves from Martinselkonen Wilds Centre yard. It goes to the Martinselkonen Nature Protection area. The area has protected old forest, large watery mires as well as spruce trees draped in beard lichen. We will follow the forest trails about 12km enjoying the beautiful wilderness and hoping to see some birds and animals. On the way we will enjoy lunch by the open fire.
Dinner and evening sauna at Martinselkonen.
Day 6 The Epic-trail or optional activities
Breakfast in the morning. In the last full day, you can choose what you want to do. There is possibility to spend one more day in Hossa National Park or participate in optional activities or maybe you just want to rest in Martinselkonen or do hikes or cycling on your own. In the morning transfer to Hossa for those who want to have one more cycling day or other activities in
Hossa. In the evening return to Martinselkonen where is special Kota-dinner and possibility to try Finnish smoke sauna.
The Epic-trail – Sininen Saavutus
The longest cycling route in Hossa, the Sininen Saavutus (blue achievement), was selected 2017 as an Epic-trail by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. Epic-trails are demanding, mostly single track experiences in remote, backcountry settings. The Sininen Saavutus in Hossa is 50km long. It goes partly in the same tracks that we cycled in the Hossa cycling day. The terrain is vary and there is several places along the way where you can have break by the open fire. You will get a lunch box with you, so that you can cycle your own speed and have a break when you feel so.
Hossa
If you don’t want to do the Epic-trail, but still want to spend a day in Hossa, you can take the same transfer to Hossa as the cyclist. Then you have a full day to do what you want (about 6 hours In Hossa). If you want to do more cycling, you can take the Fat Bike with you; it also helps you to move around in Hossa area. You can do hiking or cycling in the marked routes or visit the Hossa Reindeer Park. You can also rent a SUP- board, canoe or rowboat. You can buy lunch from the Hossa Visitor Centre or Reindeer Park or take a lunch box with you from Martinselkonen.
Martinselkonen
If you choose to stay in Martinselkonen, you can rest or hike or cycle on your own. You can have lunch at the dining area or take lunch box with you.
Optional activities:
You can also choose an optional activity for the last day to make your stay more versatile. Optional activities are not included the package price. See the description and extra fees from the end. Please note that the optional activities do not include lunch. You can buy lunch from restaurants from Suomussalmi Centre or Hossa or take lunch box with you from Martinselkonen.
Day 7 Departure
The package includes:
* airport transfers,
Kajaani/Kuusamo-Martinselkonen- Kajaani/Kuusamo
* accommodation in twin rooms
* meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
* 2 days guided cycling with Fat bikes (use of bike and helmet), 3rd day optional self guided cycling * 2 guided hiking days
* 3 transfers to Hossa and back to Martinselkonen
* daily evening sauna (one evening smoke sauna)
* Guiding in English
Optional Activity:
The Silent People and Raate Road
This excursion is good for those who want to see the Suomussalmi area a little bit better. Suomussalmi Municipality area is 5857,61 km2. Most of it is forest and lakes. We will leave by car and drive over 200km during the day. We will visit the most interesting sights of Suomussalmi. First stop is by The Silent People. There you will see about 800 scarecrow- like figures with peat heads. Then we will continue to Suomussalmi Town Centre. After a short drive through of the Centre you will have free time to visit shops and restaurants. After the stop in Suomussalmi Town Centre we will drive to see the Raate Road and learn things about Winter War (1939-1940) that left its indelible mark to the families in this area during The Second World War when Russia tried to cut Finland half. After the visits to some War Memorials and the Raate museum we will return to Martinselkonen. Duration approximately 6-8 hours.
Canoeing day in Hossa
After breakfast transfer to Hossa. In Hossa you
will meet a local canoeing guide who will take you for a short kayaking/canoeing trip to the water areas of Hossa. If you have previous experience of kayaking the guide can take you to river and rapids. If you are a beginner then a better place for the canoeing trip is one of the lakes, for example the Julma Ölkky canyon lake which you have seen earlier from up. The canoeing trip will take about 4 hours, after which you can have free time in Hossa before the transfer back to Martinselkonen in the early evening. Duration: 4 hours + 1,5 hour transfers + 1-2 hours free time at Hossa.
Boat trip to the wilderness lake in Martinselkonen
Experience the beautiful nature in a Finnish-Russian border zone on a boat trip. We will leave with a guide to a near by lake with small boat with a motor. The lake is situated just next to the border zone area of Finland and Russia. You will see some border markings and the guide will tell you about the colorful history of this water area. At the lake we can enjoy beautiful scenery and maybe we are lucky enough to spot some birds and animals. We can also go to the shore and see some old tar pits and deer hunting pits. Duration: 2-3 hours.