Valtavaara Nature Reserve is located about 25 km north of the town of Kuusamo. The villages closest to the nature reserve are Virkkula and Rukajärvi and the village-like Ruka Holiday Resort.
Directions
By Car
- When going to Ruka Holiday Resort Kuusamo take main road 5 (E63). About 25 km from Kuusamo turn right onto road 8692 to Rukatunturi Fell. Follow this road for 2,5 km and then turn left to Rukatunturi Fell. There is a parking area at the central square in Ruka.
- To get to Vuosseli parking area follow the road to Rukatunturi for 2,5 km and turn right onto Rukajärventie road (road 18884). Follow this road for about 1 km and turn left onto Vuosselintie road. Continue for 1,9 km until you gat to Vuosseli parking area.
- To get to Konttainen parking area from Kuusamo drive about 28 km along main road 5 (E63) (past Ruka). Then turn right onto road 8694 towards the village of Virkkula. Follow the road for about 3,5 km and you will reach Konttainen parking area.
By Public Transportation
- Coaches travel to Valtavaara from Kuusamo and Salla. Local buses and the Karhunkierros bus travel daily to Ruka Holiday Resort. The route for the Karhunkierros coach passes through Ruka and Käylä on its way to Salla. The Karhunkierros coach route is a combination of local coach routes and you must change from one to another at points to get to Valtavaara Hill.
- The closest airport (finavia.fi) is in Kuusamo.
- There are railway stations (vr.fi) in Oulu, Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi. The station closest to the Valtavaara-Pyhävaara area is the one at Kemijärvi. Kemijärvi is about 173 km from Valtavaara.
- Coaches (matkahuolto.fi) travel from Kemijärvi to Salla and Kuusamo.
- Coaches (matkahuolto.fi) travelling from Oulu to Kuusamo depart about every two hours. Some of these buses follow a route marked Karhunkierros coach.
- The Karhunkierros bus (ruka.fi) transports visitors to Ruka to the starting and end point for Karhunkierros Trail. The bus travels between Kuusamo and Salla. This bus also serves as a school bus route during the school year.
- Taxi enterprises (ruka.fi) from Ruka and Käylä serve as connecting transportation.
- For more information on public transportation see the Ruka (ruka.fi) website.
Starting Points for Excursions
- Parking areas are located at Ruka central square and Konttainen on Virkkulantie road and at Vuosseli.
- Starting Points for Trails
Maps
- Valtavaara Winter Trails Brochure (pdf 4.3 Mb, julkaisut.metsa.fi)
- Excursionmap.fi of Metsähallitus
- Ski Trail map (kuusamo.fluentprogress.fi)
- National Land Survey of Finland map service (karttapaikka.fi)
Other Maps
- Ruka Oulanka Karhunkierros waterproof outdoor map, 1:50 000 / 1:25 000. Karttakeskus 2022.
- Karhunkierros outdoor guide and map, 1:50 000 and 1:25 000. Karttakeskus and Jouni Laaksonen 2022.
- Karhunkierros, waterproof outdoor map, 1:25 000, Calazo 2021.
- Maastokartta: Terrain map T531 Juuma, 1:50 000.
- Peruskartta: Basic map T5311 Rukantunturi, 1:25 000.
- Maastokartta: Basic terrain maps 4613 01, 4615 01, 1:20 000.
- Maastokartta: Terrain map 4613 Rukatunturi, 1:50 000.
- GT outdoormap Finland North, 2016, 1:400 000.
Valtavaara Winter Trails Brochure
Pdf 4.3 Mb (julkaisut.metsa.fi)
A bilingual, Finnish-English version (Pdf 2.3 MB, publications.metsa.fi) of the Valtavaara Winter Trails brochure has also been made.
Konttaisen kuhaus Day Trail Brochure
Excursionmap.fi is a free map service provided by Metsähallitus. It can be used to search destinations, choose map layers and print maps.