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Kilpisjärvi is a name that probably doesn’t mean much to many people. Indeed, this little village in Finnish Lapland is a long way from the more prestigious resorts like Levi or Rovaniemi, much smaller and more rustic.
Wedged between Norway and Sweden, it’s a great place to come and see the Northern Lights and enjoy winter, or even to come and hike in summer or autumn. And don’t be fooled by its size – there are plenty of possibilities here, let’s have a look!
Why go to Kilpisjärvi
Great question. Often, we come from Tromso to Kilpisjärvi just for one evening to see the Northern Lights when the weather is crappy in Norway. Because the weather is often better here.
But Kilpisjärvi is also a great playground for hiking. To the few surrounding mountains, around the lakes, especially in summer and autumn, when there’s no snow. But also snowshoeing in winter!
One of the great reasons to go to Kilpisjärvi is that it’s much less crowded than Levi, Yllas or Rovaniemi. It’s less accessible, smaller and less well-known. So it’s much quieter.
In winter, we have all the snow activities like dog sledding, snowmobiling, reindeer watching and snowshoeing. And the Northern Lights. Everything you’d find in the big resorts!
After that, Kilpisjärvi is small. We have a supermarket, 2 restaurants, 3/4 hotels and chalets. We’ve got everything you need, but you can’t expect the activity of Levi and its pubs, for example.
Some hikes
I haven’t done them all, far from it, especially as some require a little physical fitness. But there are some great walks and hikes here!
- Tshahkajärvi, a magnificent lake above the village, accessible after a 20-minute walk. Super peaceful, and what’s more, you can go on a variety of hikes either on the mountain or around the lake.
- Siilasjärvi, another great lake, with a small waterfall, just across the border. We start from a large parking lot, which is also the starting point for many other hikes, notably to Saanatunturi.
- Saanatunturi is the odd-shaped mountain just above Kilpisjärvi. It’s a good climb, 10km round trip.
- The 3 borders cairn, a fairly long hike to reach the common border between Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Map of Finnish Lapland
I’ve created a map of Finnish Lapland that includes everything you’ll need to plan your trip:
- accommodation, including ice igloos under the Northern Lights
- all the best activities, in every town, such as dog sledding and snowmobiling
- all reindeer farms
- aurora borealis agencies
- and lots more info for each resort!
Winter activities in Kilpisjärvi
When you go to Finnish Lapland, it’s obviously for all the snow-related activities in the far north. And even though Kilpisjärvi is a smaller resort, you’ll still find all the activities you need. The main (and very reliable) company is Kilpissafarit, which remains a small, friendly company. Here you can do :
- Dog sledding
- Snowmobiling for a few hours
- but also under the northern lights!
- See reindeer with the Sami
- Go snowshoeing
- And fish on a frozen lake
Because it’s smaller, there are fewer service providers. But there are two major quality ones:
- Destination Kilpisjärvi: a small, family-run agency offering dog sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and northern lights.
So if you’re worried about getting bored in Kilpisjärvi, you won’t!
4 recommended accommodations in Kilpisjärvi
TUNDREA HOTEL
- Excellent option in Kilpisjärvi, they even have an igloo
- 8.9/10 on Booking
- From 140€!
Some places to see the Northern Lights
The problem with Kilpisjärvi and the surrounding area is that it’s a thin strip of land wedged between Sweden and Norway, with only one road running north-south. So the aim is to find places that aren’t on the side of the road, as there are a lot of trucks passing by (it’s a freeway).
There are plenty of roadside parking lots. You can stop in these parking lots, but you’ll get trucks. So not ideal, but they do allow you to see the aurora (by the way, just over the border, on the Norwegian side, there’s a very large parking lot with a great view of the mountains, which isn’t too bad).
So here are a few quiet places to enjoy the aurora without having the headlights of the trucks in your face (on the other hand, you’ll almost always have a bit of noise):
- at Tundrea Hotel (you can get in without being a guest), there’s a 5-minute walk to the lake which is great, and after renting a kayak you’re pretty far from the lights
- at Lake Siilasjärvi, a 5-minute walk from the parking lot
- at Lake Oikovuopio, there’s a large parking lot. You can stay here or go to the two lakes on either side of us
- just opposite, there’s access to the river
- at Ropinsalmi there are two entrances, either to the river or to the lake
- the Kilpisjärvi rest area (named as such on google maps), even though it’s on the side of the road, it’s not too bad as there’s a large rest area and you can get away from it all.
Where to stay in Kilpisjärvi
Around Kilpisjärvi, you’ll find a good selection of hotels, and above all a wide variety. Well, it’s not cheap.
- I stayed 3 nights at the Arctic Polar Holiday Village. Good, cheap apartments, with sauna! 99€ per night
- Perhaps the best is the Tundrea Hotel Resort. Superbly located, comfortable chalets and apartments with sauna, starting at 120€. I stayed there for 4 nights and it was top-notch.
- Arctic Land igloos, in a secluded spot perfect for auroras, from 250€ a night (but it goes up fast).
- Speaking of igloos (beautiful chalets with glass roofs for the aurora), check out the “villa deluxe” at Tundrea. These are really top-notch igloos, at 500€ a night nonetheless. But reservations go very quickly.
- Saivaara ‘s chalets are very good, for 140€.
- Last but not least, the brand-new chalets at Santa’s Hotel Rakka, for 4 people at 170€.
Well, it’s not next door, but if you like, there are plenty of options for sleeping in a glass igloo in Finnish Lapland
Practical information about Kilpisjärvi
How long to stay in Kilpisjärvi
Well… it depends! (you can see the guy getting wet)
Each time I spent a night coming from Tromso, making the return trip for the auroras or a stop to go further down into Lapland.
But this time I stayed almost a week because the weather wasn’t good in Norway, so I wanted to see the auroras here and take the opportunity to discover the area a little better. In the same way, now I stay here for almost every 2/3 days, to avoid going back and forth to Tromso, and because the area is so pleasant.
You can really do both, especially in winter. You can stay for a week and do all the activities and have a blast in the snow, or just for 2/3 days to head back down to the bigger resorts or back up to Tromso.
It can be quite relaxing. All the same, I think that in one week we’ve easily covered all there is to do, even if we’re close to Norway and its mountains, the Lyngen, and close to the better-known part of Lapland, towards Muonio in particular.
When to come and what’s the weather
In winter, Finnish Lapland is cold. It can easily reach -25 and even colder, which is the norm here. But in winter, especially from the end of January when the days start to get longer, it’s great. So I definitely recommend this period (even at Christmas, it can be great).
Summer is for nature, hiking, kayaking, it’ll rain a little, it’ll never be too hot and there’ll be a few mosquitoes. A great setting though.
Finally, autumn, from mid-September to October, is for the Northern Lights, hiking and the colors of nature. It’s superb! So it could be a great opportunity, especially as it’s not too touristy at that time of year.
How to get here
Well, that’s not the easy part.
The nearest airports are Tromso (Norway) and Kittila (Finland). Both are a good 3-hour drive away. Then you have to take a bus.
There are so many companies that go to Tromso or Kittila, you need to compare, as there are many airlines with all price ranges flying to these two airports. For my part, I use Booking Flight and I see day after day to optimize my search.
- From Tromso, not so easy, you’ll have to check with The Arctic Route, a bus company.
- From Kittila, there’s the F43 bus, which takes 5 hours. Check the timetables and routes on the Matkahuolto website.
But the easiest is to come by car. You can check on Discover Cars or Booking (formerly Rental Cars) to find a good and not expensive vehicle.
Some restaurants
It’s also pretty quiet around here, but there are some! already, restaurant is said “ravintola” to help a little.
- Tundrea, the best restaurant around. Rather affordable prices (€20/30 a dish), especially when you’re from Norway, and it’s good! They cook reindeer very well.
- At Haltinmaa there’s also a restaurant that’s not bad by the looks of it, but I’ve never tried it.
- Next to the supermarket is the Kilpishalli, which does the trick for coffee or lunch all year round.
- Finally, a little further up the road, we have a no-fuss place to eat at Kilpisjärven Retkeilykeskus. But that’s all right. I don’t think it’s open all year round, though.
Conclusion
And there you have it, you know just about everything about Kilpisjärvi! A nice stopover in Finnish Lapland, much less known and frequented than its compatriots Levi, Rovaniemi or Yllasjärvi, but still super fun with all the classic winter activities to do.
And even if you’re just passing through from Norway, don’t hesitate to drop in – you won’t regret it 🙂
