Lake Inari

Inari is the third-largest lake in Finland, a huge, cold expanse scattered with thousands of islands in the far north, held sacred by the Sami people. On its shore sits the village of Inari, the cultural capital of Finnish Sapmi, and out on the water lies Ukonkivi, a holy island of the old Sami religion.

Background

No lake in Sápmi is larger. It covers 1,040 km2 at 117-119 metres above sea level, and the Kaitakoski power plant in Russia controls its level. The basin is a graben bounded by faults that were active in the Cenozoic, and the water drains north through the Paatsjoki, which meets the sea at the Varangerfjord, a bay of the Barents Sea. The average depth is 15 metres and the deepest point 92 metres, while the shoreline runs to 3,308 kilometres. Ice normally covers it from November to early June. Hautuumaasaari, Graveyard Island, was a burial ground for the ancient Sámi. Trout, lake salmon, Arctic char, whitefish, grayling, perch and pike live here.

Source: Wikipedia, "Lake Inari"

What's there

• Ukonkivi holy island - the sacred island of the Sami, reached by summer boat.
• The island-strewn lake - vast cold water dotted with more than three thousand islands.
• Inari village and Siida - the Sami cultural centre and museum on the shore.
• Winter ice and aurora - the frozen lake under the northern lights.

When to go

Summer for boat trips to the holy island and the midnight sun; winter for ice, snow and aurora. Spring and autumn are transitional and quieter.

What to expect

It is a huge, wild lake in the far north, so its scale is best felt from a boat or the shore rather than a roadside glance. The water is cold even in summer. The Sami culture around it is living and deserves respect, not spectacle.

Nearby

The Siida Sami museum is in Inari village; Lemmenjoki and Urho Kekkonen parks lie to the south and west.

Key facts