Northern Lights Forecast for Salla

Northern Lights in Salla

Salla is a municipality in eastern Lapland, on the Russian border, whose official slogan is “Salla, in the middle of nowhere”. It is one of the largest municipalities in Finland by area, with about half a person per square kilometer, so once you leave the village or the Sallatunturi fell resort, roughly 10 km southeast of it, there is almost no artificial light. Salla is just north of the Arctic Circle but not far enough for a true polar night: at the solstice the sun clears the horizon for a little under two hours. The midnight sun lasts from early June to early July, so the aurora season starts in late August.

Sallatunturi summit and the Kaunisharju observation point

Two of Salla’s marked nature observation points are close to the resort.

• The summit of Sallatunturi. Reached on foot by the maintenance road that climbs from the south side of the slopes. On top there is a hut, hammocks and the “Salla, in the middle of nowhere” sign, with a view over Salla National Park.
• Kaunisharju. Beside the road 4 km from the center of Sallatunturi in the direction of Kuusamo. It has no fire pit.

Looking into Old Salla

Salla National Park, founded at the start of 2022, covers about 100 km² between the resort and the border: its western edge touches the ski slopes and its eastern edge is the Russian frontier. From the lower peak of the Sallatunturit you look across at the old Sallatunturi fells on the Russian side.

Salla was called Kuolajärvi until 1936. The 1940 peace after the Winter War handed the eastern part of the municipality, including the original Sallatunturi, to the Soviet Union; that lost ground is “Old Salla”. The Salla Museum of War and Reconstruction, in the old railway workers’ houses by the former station near the village, covers Kuolajärvi before the wars, the fighting and the rebuilding.

Road 82 east from Rovaniemi

Road 82 branches off at Vikajärvi, north of Rovaniemi, and runs east through Kemijärvi to Sallatunturi, about 160 km from Rovaniemi, ending at the border crossing beyond the village. Kuusamo and its airport are about 100 km to the south. The night train from Helsinki ends at Kemijärvi, and a connecting bus continues to Sallatunturi in about 1.5 hours.