Visiting Raattama, a small village next to Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park

Raattama is a village in the municipality of Kittilä, in western Finnish Lapland, right at the edge of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park. There is one shop, a lot of forest and fell, and no queues. Most visitors who fly to Kittilä turn towards Levi. Raattama is about 80 km from the airport in a quieter direction, and that is exactly why people come here.

We are Kirsi and Mika. We run the Alatalo reindeer farm here and rent out two cabins, so this guide is written from the inside: what we tell our own guests when they ask what to do.

What Raattama is like

A small village along regional road 957, with a shop, ski trails starting right beside it, and houses spread out along a few quiet roads. The village shop is open all year, Monday to Friday 10–17 and Saturday 10–15, and it sells fuel during opening hours. Restaurant Loimu next to the shop opens irregularly; it is worth checking with the shop or with us before counting on it.

The nearest bigger supermarket is in Muonio, 45 km away, where fuel is also available around the clock. Kelo Resort is 10 km from the village. The nearest town, Kittilä, and its airport are roughly 80 km away.

There are few streetlights, which is a good thing on a clear winter night.

The national park on your doorstep

Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park is the third largest in Finland at 1,020 square kilometres and the most visited, with almost 600,000 visits a year. It was founded in 1938. The Pallas fell chain runs through it, and its highest point, Taivaskero, rises to 809 metres.

From Raattama the park begins almost immediately: from our Saivo cabin the boundary is 500 metres away, and the nearest ski trail starts there too. Pallastunturi, with its visitor centre and the Lapland Hotels Pallas hotel, is 25 km from the village towards Muonio. The 9 km Taivaskero circle trail starts from the visitor centre and takes about three hours in summer. In winter the same area is good for snowshoeing, and there is a larger sledding hill behind the hotel.

The air here is something to breathe on purpose: measurements at the Sammaltunturi station in the park have recorded some of the cleanest air in the world.

Things to do in winter

Winter is the main season, and it is long: snow usually from November into April.

• Cross-country skiing. Raattama has a proper trail network, maintained by the local Raattaman Reitit association from December to April, weather permitting. Loops range from a lit 3.7 km circuit up Ahovaara to an 18 km village round, and the longer routes connect to the national park's wilderness huts. The best skiing is from February to April, when the days are long again. From Villa Tupasvilla the trails are 500 m away; from Saivo you can reach the trail along a snowmobile track we make. There is a live trail map at infogis.fi/raattamanreitit.
• Snowshoeing. Both of our cabins have four pairs of snowshoes for guests, and the park is next door. Around Pallastunturi there are marked routes for it.
• A reindeer farm visit. From November to March our reindeer are home in the winter enclosure, and you can join us for a feeding. Two hours, always just your own group, by advance booking. There is a separate page about the visit.
• Ice fishing and ice swimming. For our cabin guests: ice fishing on the lake the way it has always been done here, and at Saivo a hole in the ice with a warm sauna to come back to.
• Husky sledding. Doghill Huskys runs dog-sled tours in Muonio, about an hour away.
• Northern lights. Possible whenever it is dark and the sky is clear, and there is very little light pollution here. We never promise them, and nobody honest does.

Things to do in summer and autumn

The best time for summer trips is from Midsummer to the end of September. The national park has 340 km of marked hiking trails, and from early May to the end of July it is light through the night. Our Saivo cabin has a rowing boat on the lake. In September the birch forests turn yellow and red, and the first frosts come at the end of the month.

When to come

• November to March: reindeer at home, farm visits, deep winter. From mid-December to early January the sun barely rises, and a headlamp is a good thing to carry.
• February to April: the best skiing and the most light, still cold.
• Midsummer to September: hiking, rowing, no snow.
• October and early November: the quietest time; first snow, short days, few services.

A normal winter day is somewhere between −10 and −30 °C, but a single week can swing from 0 to −40. Bring proper winter clothing; we do not lend clothes, but rental is available in Levi.

Getting here

You will want a car. There is no four-wheel-drive requirement, but in winter the car must have winter tyres, preferably studded, because the roads can be icy. The road is ploughed when needed. Public transport is scarce; getting here without a car is possible but takes arranging, so ask us first. There is a separate guide to the drive from Kittilä airport.

Where to stay: cabins and cottages in Raattama

We rent two cabins, each for four people, both with a wood-fired sauna and a proper kitchen. Villa Tupasvilla is in the village on a quiet private road, 500 m from the shop and the ski trails. Saivo is a lakeside cottage on Saivojärvi, 10 km from the village, with the national park 500 m from the door. Both are booked through Airbnb, and both are the kind of self-catering holiday home that most visitors to this area are looking for: your own place, your own sauna, no neighbours to speak of.

If you have a question about the village that this page does not answer, email or call us. We live here.