Ivalo | Exploring Finland
Ivalo is a village in the far north of Finland, north of the Arctic Circle. It is the administrative center of Inari Municipality in Finnish Lapland. Around 3.000 people live here at the shores of the river Ivalojoki. The village is also known by its Inari Sami name Avveel. This is one of the larger commercial centers in the far north of Finland. It is the gateway of the wast wilderness in the two large municipalities of Inari and Utsjoki. IN addition, heading to the east is Road 91. About 50 kilometers along that road and you will reach the border with Russia.
A Short History of Ivalo
The village of Kyrö, a village established here in the 1750s by a Finnish settler from the Tornio Valley. The village of Ivalo began developing nearby about a century later. They had merged by 1940 into the village it is today.
The road from Sodankylä to Ivalo was completed in 1914. The village became an important intersection in the north of Finland with the completion of the road to Petsamo a few years later. Petsamo was an area that up until the Second World War belonged to Finland. It connected Finland with the Arctic Ocean. Finland lost the area to the Soviet Union. The war also included the burning of a large part of Lapland by retreating German soldiers in 1944. Ivalo was not spared.
Things to Do and See
This is northern Lapland, the home of the midnight sun in the summer and the polar night with its possible northern lights in the winter. It is an area of Finland where you might encounter reindeer almost anywhere.
The center of Ivalo has many of the main services for northern Lapland. Shops and other businesses can be found here while you prepare for an adventure. Close to the center is also a public beach at the shores of the Ivalojoki river.
Nearby is places such as the Hammastunturi Wilderness Area ,or Hammastunturin erämaa in Finnish. A large area with mountains and forests. That is just one of many places in the area for hiking and other outdoor activities. Other activities are fishing and cycling in the summer. While in the winter there are cross-country skiing, riding snowmobiles, and even dog or reindeer sledging.
How to Get to Ivalo
- Flights: Ivalo Airport is the northernmost airport in the European Union with regular traffic. The airport has both domestic and international flights.
- Car: Ivalo is located along European route E75 between Sodankylä and Inari.
The driving distance from 5 major Finnish cities, according to Google Maps:
- Helsinki – 1113 kilometers (12 h 40 min)
- Turku – 1125 kilometers (13 h 10 min)
- Vaasa – 826 kilometers (9 h 50 min)
- Oulu – 508 kilometers (6 h)
- Joensuu – 836 kilometers (9 h 40 min)
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