We welcome you to spend a relaxing holiday in the last wilderness of Europe!
Ruka-Kuusamo is a tourism area that is unique in Europe. It is located among the rivers, fish-rich lakes, rugged landscapes, hiking trails, cross-country ski trails and ski slopes of Oulanka, Riisitunturi and Hossa National Parks.
“We are part of Finnish Lapland, the last wilderness in Europe where you can experience exotic adventures all year round. Together with the region’s tourism providers, we are working intensively to make our tourism services more sustainable and responsible,” says Mats Lindfors, Managing Director of Ruka-Kuusamo Tourism.
Ruka is a climate-neutral ski resort
The development of tourism services in the region, which is part of the nationwide project “Sustainable Travel Finland”, focuses not only on sustainable development, but also on a balanced design of services and the abandonment of private motorized transport.
“There is a lot of work, but a lot has already been achieved because Ruka has been classified as a climate-neutral ski resort. This means that, among other things, we use green electricity and heat most of the buildings in the center of Ruka with bio-district heating made from wood chips. We have also managed to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels in downstream machines and compensate for the CO2 emissions caused by their use in accordance with the Gold Standard certified by the WWF.”
New solutions are being sought primarily for digitalization.
“We are working on implementing an intelligent transport project that will ensure that travelers arriving in the region no longer travel from place to place in their own car, but use intelligent transport solutions. The aim is to put mobility services on a digital platform on which they can be easily found and purchased by travelers. We are also exploring the suitability of self-driving vehicles as part of transportation solutions.”
Exotic experiences, intense flavors of local nature
Would you like to experience the northern lights, rafting, sauna, hiking, dog sledding, cross-country skiing or skiing in a good atmosphere? Then it's worth visiting the Ruka-Kuusamo region.
“Many people don’t know that they can see the Northern Lights here from mid-August to the end of April. For example, you can experience it while slowly going down a rapids in a drysuit,” says Lindfors.
This is what the Ruka-Kuusamo tourism region offers:
- In winter, the Ruka ski area with its services, cross-country ski trails, snowmobile routes and winter activities is at your disposal: 35 slopes and 169.5 kilometers of cross-country ski trails.
- Experience the nature of Kuusamo all year round: in the Oulanka, Riisitunturi and Hossa national parks.
- Arctic animals: One in three residents of the region is a reindeer and bears can be spotted on organized excursions.
- 12,000 beds, almost 7,000 vacation rentals - from high-end hotels to traditional log cabins.
- In winter, Lufthansa offers a direct connection from Frankfurt twice a week. With Finnair you can get to your destination via Helsinki every day, all year round.
- More than 40 program providers offer you safaris all year round.
Text: Mia Heiskanen
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Editor Helsinki
Valtteri Rantalainen | +358 40 561 7703 | tuotanto(a)editorhelsinki.fi I www.editorhelsinki.fi
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