Drive it Yourself: Kilpisjärvi to Kautokeino in Finnish Lapland & Finnmark
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Watch on Youtube
All of our roadtrips are available on YouTube to watch. They include information about the area provided in text and voiceover form, plus they show the drive in full (sped up in some spots!) so you can get an idea what the drive is like.
The drive: Kilpisjärvi to Kautokeino
Kilpisjärvi
This drive begins in Kilpisjärvi just south of the Finnish/Norwegian border. We had left from Tromso early in the morning. You can read more about Kilpisjärvi via the travel guide below.
Enontekiö Municipality
The municipality of Enontekiö has a population of approximately 1,800 people. It is in the outermost northwest part of the country and is between Norway and Sweden. Finland’s highest point, the Halti fell, with a height of 1,324m (4,344ft) is in the municipality. This is the only municipality in Finland that includes part of the Scandinavian mountains.
The first human settlement dates to after the last Ice Age. The oldest traces of settlement can be found along the Ounasjärvi Lake and are dated to around 6,000BC. The Sami population used this area as part of their reindeer migration, but there were no permanent settlements until Christianity came to the region. The first church was built here by the Swedes in the 16th century. It was a small wooden building in the village of Rounala and it became a central meeting point where the Sami people gathered for religious ceremonies, where travelling merchants sold their wares, and where the Swedish officials held judicial courts.
Since the end of the 17th century, the reindeer Sami culture spread from Norwegian and Swedish Lapland to Enontekiö. The reindeer Sami had a nomadic way of life and moved with their animals. Enontekiö’s last nomads didn’t settle down until the 1960s. The culture of the reindeer is still preserved, though. The first Finnish people settled in the area in the 17th century, and due to Finnish immigration and assimilation, a Finnish majority developed in the area.
During the Continuation War, where Finland allied with Germany in fighting against the Soviet Union, Enontekiö was part of the operational part of the region Wehrmacht. When Finland concluded the Moscow Armistice with the Soviet Union on 4 September 1944, the German troops were expelled. The Finnish-German Lapland War broke out. As the Germans left, they enacted the scorched earth tactic and devastated Enontekiö. The last Wehrmact soldiers left on 27 April.
The vegetation is very meagre, due to the extreme northern latitude. The northern border of the natural geographic range of spruce matches the southern border of the municipality. The range of pine ends 20km (12 mi) north of the main village Hetta. Birch trees do grow in the municipality. About 70% of the municipality is under conservation protection.
Due to the harsh climate conditions, there are many animals unknown to the south of Finland. This includes the Norwegian lemming, Arctic fox, snowy owl, Eurasian dotterel, ptarmigan, and ring ouzel. There are lots of small mammals and bird species.
Enontekiö is part of the native settlement area for the Sami, but only 9.2% of the population speak Sami.
The main industries here are tourism and reindeer husbandry.
Järämä Fortification Area
Historic Fortress
Järämä is a restored section of the Sturmbock-Stellung fortification that was built by the Nazis between 1942 and 1944 with the purpose of protecting the Arctic Ocean. You can see restored bunkers, trenches and an exhibition about the history of the building.
In the summer, the museum is open from 11am to 6pm. Click here to visit their website.
Karesuvanto
Village
Karesuvanto is a small village across from the Swedish border along the Muonio River. The neighbouring village Karesuando is located on the other side of the river in Sweden. According to Finnish tradition they are both considered parts of the same locality, although officially a national border bisects them. The sides are linked by a road bridge built in 1980. The area is traditionally Finnish and Sami speaking. After the Finnish War in 1809, the border was drawn for politically reasons, not for cultural ones. The first buildings were built here in 1670 and were primarily religious buildings to try and convert the Sami people to Christianity.
In the village you’ll find a petrol station with cafe, souvenir shop, and some hotels.
Palojoensuu
Village
Palojoensuu is a small village located on the Muonio River. It has a population of around 100 people.
Enontekiö
Village
Enontekiö is a village where we turn off to Kautokeino. Enontekiö is the name of the municipality, while Hetta is the technical name of this town. However, you will often see this town using the municipality name instead. Enontekiö Airport is located just outside the town but doesn’t have regularly scheduled flights. The village is a popular place for cross country skiers, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and husky sledding. The local company, Hetta Huskies, won a Gold Award in the World Responsible Tourism Awards in 2015. It is also possible to visit traditional reindeer farms here.
Crossing the Norwegian Border
Border
Crossing into Norway is very easy – you basically just drive right on over. Sometimes you may be stopped for a random customs check, but it doesn’t happen very often.
Kautokeino Municipality
Kautokeino (North Sami name: Guovdageaidnu) is one of the two cultural centres of the Northern Sapmi people (the other is Karasjok). The coat-of-arms represents a lavvu, which is still in use by the reindeer herders who follow their herds according to the season. 90% of the population are Sami speaking.
In 1852 Kautokeino was the site of a Sami uprising against representatives of the Norwegian authorities. This was one of few violent reactions by the Sami against the exploitation policies of the Norwegian government and is the only known confrontation between Samis and Norwegians with loss of human lives.
Kautokeino is different from other municipalities in Finnmark because more than 50% of the population is younger than 30 years old. This is due to the number of schools in the area. For example, the Sámi Joatkkaskuvla ja Boazodoalloskuvla is the Sami High School and Reindeer Herding School. Most teachers speak Sami and allow for classes to be taught in Sami. In addition to regular classes, students can study duodji (Sami handicrafts) and reindeer herding. It is the only school in the world that offers a reindeer herding class. Sámi allaskuvla is the Sami University College that has national responsibility for Sami higher education. The Nordic Sami Institute is a Sami research institution that focuses on the Sami language, culture, reindeer husbandry and legal research.
The main industries are reindeer herding, the theatre/film industry, and the public education system. The Beaivváš Sámi Theatre is the national Sami theatre and plays a role in making Sami history and culture visible. One of the most famous people from Kautokeino is Nils Gaup, a film director known for Pathfinder and The Kautokeino Rebellion.
Kautokeino is known as one of the coldest places in the Nordics. It has a subarctic climate, and the all-time low was -50C (-59F) and was recorded in 1999. The all-time high was 30C (86F) and was recorded in July 2018. This is because Kautokeino is in the Arctic highlands of the Finmarksvidda Plateau. Kautokeino has some of the lowest rainfall averages in all of Norway. During summer, the daytime temperatures average between 10C (50F) and 20C (68F). The temperature and 10,000 lakes make it a haven for mosquitos, so humans and reindeer tend to flee to the coast for the summer.
Kautokeino
Here we are in Kautokeino. You can find a detailed overview of Kautokeino over on the travel guide page.
Where to Go From Here
After a stay in Kautokeino, we continued our drive north through the Alta canyon and down to Alta before heading onto the Havøysund Tourist Road.
This drive is part of the multi-day series “From Tromsø to North Cape and back again”. You can view the entire drive via the link below.
If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!
