Riisitunturi National Park

Riisitunturi is famous for tykky, the heavy crown snow that in deep winter buries its hilltop spruces until they stand like hunched white figures across the fells. The climb to the tops rewards you with a surreal forest of snow-ghosts above the frozen lakes of Lapland.

What's there

• The snow-ghost trees - spruces bent and buried under crown snow in midwinter.
• The fell tops - open summits with long views over frozen forest and lake.
• Winter light - the low pink and blue polar light on the white landscape.
• Summer bogs - hanging bog and wildflowers when the snow is gone.

When to go

Late February and March, when the crown snow is at its heaviest and the light returns, is the whole reason to come. Summer is a quiet green hill park, a completely different experience.

Practical notes

The snow-ghost spectacle needs a cold, snowy winter and the climb up in deep snow, so it means snowshoes or skis and real winter gear. It is remote in Lapland and thinly served. In a mild winter the tykky may not form, so there is a weather gamble.

Nearby

Posio village and its ceramics are nearby; the Korouoma canyon with its frozen waterfalls is within reach.

Key facts