Northern Lights Forecast for Kittilä

Northern Lights in Kittilä

Kittilä is the center of one of the largest municipalities in Finland by area, a village of about 2,200 people on the Ounasjoki river in western Lapland, roughly 120 km north of the Arctic Circle. Most people who fly in here are heading 20 km north to the Levi ski resort and never see the village. Kittilä itself is a quieter and darker place to stay under the same sky.

Kittilä Airport, 5 km up the Levi road

Kittilä Airport (KTT) is 5 km north of the village center on the road to Levi. Finnair flies from Helsinki all year, with direct flights from several European cities in winter. Levi is about 15 km from the terminal and Ylläs 35 to 50 km west, depending on the village, and airport buses run to both. By road, Kittilä is about 150 km north of Rovaniemi on Highway 79, around two hours’ drive, with buses between the two.

The Ounasjoki and the fells to the west

The village is strung along the river and the main road, and the lights thin out quickly beyond the center. Karinnokka, a laavu (lean-to shelter) with a fireplace on the Ounasjoki in the church village, has the river and Levi fell in view. The Ounasjoki runs through the municipality almost north to south, and away from the village its valley is open and unlit.

West of the village, Totovaara is the nearest trailhead into Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park. Aakenustunturi, 565 m at its highest point, has marked trails from the Totovaara parking area and a ski track around it in winter. Further out, the Pallas visitor center and fell hotel are about an hour’s drive north-west of the airport, under Taivaskero, which rises to just over 800 m.

Pokka and a short polar night

Kittilä is far enough north for a polar night, but only just: the sun stays below the horizon for roughly two weeks around the winter solstice, and there are still a few hours of light at midday. Pokka, a hamlet on the road from Kittilä to Inari, recorded Finland’s official low of −51.5 °C on 28 January 1999.

Engel’s church and the painters’ houses

The wooden church, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel and finished in 1831, is the oldest building in Kittilä and one of the few that survived when retreating German troops burned the village in 1944. The Palsa Museum in the village is the home of the painter Kalervo Palsa. At Kaukonen, about 30 km south by road, the Särestöniemi Museum is the farm and studios of the painter Reidar Särestöniemi.