Rukatunturi
Encyclopedia
Fell
“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...
and a ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
in Kuusamo
Kuusamo
Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Oulu province and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Apart from downhill skiing, there are over 500 km of cross-country skiing tracks. Also snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
s can be rented to enjoy some of the area's 600 km of snowmobile routes (of which 100 km are safari organizers' private routes). Ruka is also the southern end of the Karhunkierros
Karhunkierros
Karhunkierros is a hiking trail that stretches from Salla to Kuusamo in north-eastern Finland....
hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trail. The total of trails in Ruka and Kuusamo area is: 160 km of hiking trails, 605 km of biking routes, 350 km of classified paddling routes (including class 1-4 whitewater paddling) and 100 km of boating routes.
In winter 1954, the first slope
Slope
In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line describes its steepness, incline, or grade. A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline....
, now called as "Eturinne" ("Front Slope"), was opened. Now the total of slopes is 29, operated with 20 ski lift
Ski lift
The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...
s (one high-speed detachable chair with bubble). There's effective snowmaking on all runs by almost 90 snowguns and 5 groomers.
Ruka has turned into a diverse tourist centre whose year-round usage is growing. In winter there are for example Nordic skiing World Cup competitions. FIS Nordic Combined season starts yearly in Ruka (Nordic Opening). There are also annual national competitions in alpine and freestyle skiing, and there have been international competitions in these sports, too.
Ruka has one of the longest ski seasons in Europe, starting usually in October and ending in June. During the main season ski lifts are open daily from 9.30 am until 7 pm. There's also night skiing on Fridays 7-11 pm (usually from December until mid-April).
Ruka Through The Seasons
In the winter months Ruka is a ski resort and activity centre with 29 ski slopes, 23 flood lit slopes for night skiing, over 500 km of cross country ski tracks, a border cross park and street as well as other activities such as snowmobiling, snowshoeing, reindeer sleigh rides, husky sled rides, visits to Santa's home, ice carting, ice fishing, ice climbing and Finnish sauna. The winter season usually runs from the beginning of December until May.In the summer the snow melts and Ruka becomes a hiking and mountain biking centre with the Oulanka National Park and world famous Karhunkeiros, 80 km hiking trail, on its doorstep. Other activities on offer are canoeing, white water rafting, fishing, birdwatching, hiking with huskies, lake cruises, bear watching, water skiing and ATV safaris.
In the autumn the forests of Ruka and Kuusamo turn glorious colours, with not just the trees but the forest floor, which is carpeted in plants, turning reds, oranges and yellows.