Petkeljarvi National Park

One of the most picturesque parks in Finland is Petkellärvi National Park. This pearl, and attracts tourists, the beauty of its lakes and sand ridges. The territory of the park was formed 10,000 years ago, at the end of the ice age, formed from under ice and melt water.

Petkellärvi National Park, considered a very popular place for walking, to see its sights, you need to allocate a whole day. A beautiful view, which is breathtaking, opens from the tops to the sparkling water under the sun, numerous lakes .Every day it is visited by a lot of people, the routes in the park are built so that you can fully enjoy the scenery and nature.

Part of the mountain range of the national park are mountain ranges stretching from Lake Koitere to the border with Russia. They are small, but quite steep, some of them are steep. In the park, there are many forests, you can find very old types of trees. There is a huge pine forest, the trees here have an age of more than one hundred and fifty years. On pines there are many hollows in which they live, tits, woodpeckers, flytraps. In summer, the silence of the park is broken by the cries of a black-throated diver, on the trails lie the trunks of trees that have eaten beavers. Huge animals such as elk, bear, wolf also live in the park, but they avoid meeting visitors in every possible way.

Lake Petraniemi, due to the sandy soil, has clear, crystalline water. In the lake you can swim, sunbathe on the shore and enjoy the virgin beauty of the park, hear the singing of birds, follow the loons diving into the lake for fish. In the tourist center, you can rent a kayak or boat, and make a water trip through the lakes of the park. For hiking, the best option is a circular route through the park of 6.5 kilometers "Kuykan Kierros", the route is named in honor of loons. In addition to forests, meadows are located in the park, they are heavily swamped and preserved as a landscape of the park.

A feature of the park are the traces of the war between Finland and the Soviet Union of 1939-1940s, these are trenches and shelters, so visitors can feel the spirit of history, the country.

At the moment, Petkellärvi Park is the best place for hiking and lovers of quiet nature. Petkeljarvi National Park and Patvinsuo Park, which is located nearby, are classified as a reserve of North Karelia, and are part of UNESCO.