2_9_ScanMag_75_April_2015_Text_Q9_MADS_Scan Magazine 1 07/04/2015 21:39 Page 43
Scan Magazine | Mini Theme | Top Culture Hotspots in Finland
TOP LEFT: Saami siblings Kaisu ja Heikki run Tradition Hotel Kultahovi. BOTTOM LEFT: Besides museum exhibitions, events that focus on culture and nature, as well as seminars, are arranged at Siida. TOP RIGHT: Sajos offers facilities of an international standard for meetings, training events, and conferences. The building is modern and visually impressive. BOTTOM RIGHT: The ancient Sami cultural site Ukko Island is one of the stops on Visit Inari’s cruises on Lake Inari, Lapland's largest wilderness lake.
Tiervâpuáttim Anarân: Welcome to Inari! From adventurous husky safaris and stunning Northern Lights to special culinary treats and traditional experiences highlighting the indigenous Sami people, the lakeside village of Inari in the heart of Finnish Lapland has it all. By Nina Lindqvist | Photos: Kultahovi
Hotel Kultahovi, inspired by Sami culture and spectacular northern landscape, provides a modern take on Lapland. “Our kitchen utilises the finest, local ingredients providing customers with exciting culinary experiences, whereas the traditional hotel incorporates materials and colours representing Sami heritage as well as Finnish design classics dating back to the 1940s,” second-generation hotel owner Kaisu Nikula explains. Kultahovi makes innovative use of its magnificent location. The underwater camera in nearby River Juutuanjoki streams a live video feed to every room and the rooftop camera reveals when the impressive Northern Lights show starts. Sami museum and nature centre Siida Siida offers insight into Sami history and information on the surrounding nature. Both the National Museum of the Finnish Sami and the Nature Centre of Metsähallitus are based here. “Our versatile venue
hosts both permanent and changing exhibitions and activities throughout the year. The main purpose of the museum is to sustain the identity and cultural self-esteem of the Sami,” says Ida Ikonen, senior marketing and communications advisor. In addition, the open-air museum offers summer visitors the possibility to get acquainted with unique Sami buildings and traditional hunting and fishing methods. Sami cultural centre Sajos Sajos is the centre of Sami culture and administration, founded in order for the Sami to maintain and develop their own language, culture and livelihood and cultural self-government. Besides housing the Sami Parliament, Sajos also accommodates a Sami handicraft shop with genuine, individual Sami handicrafts, literature and music. “We also organise different activities, including a Sami handicraft workshop in the summer, where participants familiarise themselves with Sami culture in a
practical manner,” marketing manager Johanna Alatorvinen, emphasises. Conferences, concerts and festivals are also arranged in the spacious, versatile venues at Sajos, all equipped with state of the art conference technology. Activity centre Visit Inari Visit Inari offers a wide selection of guided treks and activities all year round for avid nature enthusiasts and adventure seekers. Winter time activities include snowshoe hiking, cross country ski school and snowmobile Northern Lights safaris. During summertime, visitors can embark on a cruise tour of Lake Inari and Ukko Island, once used as a sacrificial site by the Sami, or go fjord horse riding. “Visit Inari also offers two quality accommodation possibilities; the modern Inari Aurora Resort in the heart of the village, and the cosy Holiday Village Inari cabins, located on the shores of Lake Inari,” CEO Tapani Lappalainen adds. For more information, please visit: www.hotelkultahovi.fi www.siida.fi www.sajos.fi www.visitinari.fi
Issue 75 | April 2015 | 43