Juicy Finland

Walks Worldwide still has space on its 10-day trekking holiday exploring the beautiful frontier forests hugging Finland’s border with Russia. With 24-hour daylight, pretty lakeside cabins with saunas, canoe trips along sparkling rivers and forests brimming with berry bushes providing healthy and juicy snacks for passing walkers – it doesn’t get much better than this.

The beautiful easternmost frontier forests of Finland offer great walking country. Travellers stay in secluded forest cottages, lakeside cabins and even a former frontier guard station. Following the ‘blue path’ of the frontier zone, the close proximity to the Russian border adds an intangibly mysterious and exotic slant. Hiking through the Martinselkonen Nature Reserve to Arola Farm, a working farm renowned for its delicious local food, walkers camp overnight on the shores of Lake Kovajarvi, relaxing in the late evening around an open fire.

From here the landscape becomes increasingly wild and wolf tracks may be spotted along the way. Swans and cranes nest on the mires and lakes and the forest brims with juicy berry bushes. Crossing into the Hossa recreational area, known locally as a fisherman’s paradise due to its numerous waterways and lakes, pike, perch or trout may well be on the menu. Log cabin accommodation here is utterly secluded, set in the middle of the forest, with fireplaces, intimate dining areas and of course saunas.

Try some gentle canoeing and visit Julma-Olkky Canyon Lake to see the dramatic cliffs adorned with 400 year-old rock paintings. The tour concludes in Helsinki with an opportunity to explore the pretty harbour, view some of the city’s fine classical architecture and time to enjoy some Finnish café culture too.

The tour costs £1,275 p/p including scheduled flights, transfers, a variety of accommodation, most meals, saunas, luggage transfers, canoe rental and expert guiding. A 2-night Bear and Beaver Safari extension is available (15th August departure only) at a cost of £225 p/p.

For more information, visit Walksworldwide.com.