Northern Lights Forecast for Inari

Northern Lights in Inari

Inari (Aanar in Inari Sámi) is a village of about 630 people where the Juutuanjoki river flows into Lake Inari, 40 km north of Ivalo on Highway 4. It is the center of Sámi life in Finland, with the Sámi Parliament and the Siida museum on the riverbank. The lake opens out to the north-east of the village, and once it freezes it is a wide, unlit horizon a few minutes’ walk from the main road.

Lake Inari and the road up Tuulispää

Lake Inari is the third-largest lake in Finland, about 1,040 km² with more than 3,000 islands, and it is frozen for most of the aurora season. In early April the King’s Cup, the last meeting of the reindeer racing season, is run on the ice at Inari.

For higher ground, take the gravel road toward Tuulispää fell, which leaves Highway 4 about 6 km south of the village. It runs about 3 km, is plowed in winter, and ends at a parking area where a 1.4 km trail with views over Lake Inari leads to Tuulijärvi.

The Juutua trail and Otsamo fell

The 6.3 km Juutua trail starts at Siida and follows the river upstream to the Jäniskoski rapids, where a suspension bridge crosses to a lean-to on the north bank. The trail is lit and kept open in winter, so it is an easy walk after dark but not a place to wait for a faint aurora.

Otsamo, the fell that dominates the view from the village, has a treeless top with views to Lake Inari and the Lemmenjoki and Muotkatunturi fells. The summer trail from Siida is 9.2 km each way. In winter a 9.7 km ski trail starts at the Inari ski stadium, usually from mid-February, when the village’s touring tracks open.

Siida, Sajos and the Sámi Parliament

Siida is the national museum of Sámi culture and the Northern Lapland Nature Centre, with an open-air museum and the Metsähallitus desk for hikers. Sajos, beside the Juutuanjoki, opened in 2012 and houses the Sámi Parliament of Finland. Every January the village hosts Skábmagovat, an Indigenous peoples’ film festival with films screened in a theater built of snow.

Pielpajärvi wilderness church

The wooden church at Pielpajärvi was built between 1752 and 1760 at what was then Inari’s winter village and market place, and there is no road to it. A 4.5 km trail, maintained in winter, starts from a parking area on Sarviniementie, which leaves Highway 4 just north of Siida. In winter a 19 km ski trail from the Siida yard also passes the church, partly across the lake ice, where the wind can be strong.