Hello travellers, in this blog you can find a lot of information if you want to visit the two unesco sites located in central Finland.
We are five friends from an exchange program and we wanted to share the beautiful places that we found on our road trip with you.
Planning this tour was easy but be aware that you will have to make appointments with some of the spots. You can find all the contact information at the end of this blogpost.
okey travellers, let’s get started.
FIRST STOP
PETÄJÄVESI OLD CHURCH
We started really early with our trip , we took our car and drove from Jyväskylä (30 minutes) to this UNESCO site. When we arrived there we realised why this church is such a popular place for tourists to visit, it was easy to find and it had a really good parking place, and the views were amazing. This church is world heritage because it is made entirely of wood and the Lutheran church is build already 262 years ago. It’s a really special place. But unfortunately we didn’t made an appointment with enough priority, so we couldn’t go inside. But from outside it was already so beautiful that we really wished we could enter, they say that it is incredible.
For this spot you will need an appointment during winter season (you will have to be more than 10 people and book it three days in advance) but during summer time you can always enter without it. Also be aware that you will have to pay a small fee for the entrance.
Vanhankirkontie 9, 41900 Petäjävesi
SECOND STOP
PIESASKYLÄ BIRDWATCHING TOWER
After our first stop we went to a more isolated place in the middle of the forest. If you are lucky and you have “good” weather ( we know how the finish weather is) you can visit this little place where you can relax while watching some birds and nature. The place is free to visit for everyone at any time you want.
We loved the little notebook up in the tower where a lot of people had written down all the birds that they saw during their visit. If you are passionate about birds you can do the same. Finland is a very well known country for birdwatching, there are around 460 different species of birds living here. Some of them you can rarely encounter anywhere else in Europe. Some examples you can see from this tower are owls, white-backed, willow and Siberian tits… If you can make it we recommend you to go during May, maybe you will be lucky and see some of the massive migrations around this place.
You can find this lovely spot at this address Piesalankylä, Mataraniementie 13, 41900 Petäjävesi , look careful because the spot a little bit hidden by the trees.
THIRD STOP
HAKAMAA SHEEP FARM
Next stop was the Hakamaa sheep farm, for us this was a completely new experience but if was definitely worth visiting it. We met with a really nice woman that showed us her farm life. We saw dogs, pony’s, chicken and of course many sheep. Being so close to the animals, watch them and even touch or feed them was so great that after that you might begin to dream about your own farm. We really recommend this place to foreign visitors because of the easy communication with the farmer and the good conditions of all the animals, you could see that they are very passionate about their job.
You should let the farmer know about your visit before going there so she can welcome you in the best conditions.
Metsäkulmantie 543, 41900 Petäjävesi Tel. +358 40 506 5372 Hakamaa Sheep farm webpage
FOURTH STOP
HANGASJÄRVI OUTDOOR RECREATION AREA
After this previous stops we were hungry so we looked for a place where we could eat our lunch.We found this cool place where you can do a lot of activities with previous appointment, but if you want to go there just to hang out, make a fire or a short walk by the lake you can just drop by. There is also the possibility of renting a cabin for a really low price and enjoying the place for a little bit longer.
Making a fire before going to sleep in the cabin down in the forest, or going to the sauna and after that jumping in the lake sounds so great that we really wished to had rent that cabin and stayed a little bit longer.
recreation area webpage
FIFHT STOP
HÖYRY-GALLERY/ EMALIPUU ULLA HUTTUNEN & ARTO SALMINEN
We also wanted to visit an art exhibition during our trip so we chose this small but interesting art gallery. This was also a great spot where we found cute postcards to take back home so that we will always remember our roadtrip. You have also the possibility to buy the unique and self made pieces of wood and enamel in the small shop. Not only the exhibition itself is worth visiting, the building is also placed on a very beautiful spot, next to the harbour of Korpilahti. This village is also the perfect place to rest a bit while having coffee or a tee in one of the local cafes.
Korpilahden satama, Korpilahdentie 10, 41800 Korpilahti Tel. +358 50 4121 611
FINAL STOP
ORAVIVUORI UNESCO STRUVE POINT
You cannot imagine a better ending of your trip than watching the sunset from this magical spot, you will have to walk 1 km from where you can leave your car but it is worth every step. It is also a beautiful place to walk around and you have some tables at the top where you can rest.
This struve point is a part of the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of many survey triangulation measurements stretching from the Arctic Sea to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820km. These were build by scientists between 1816 and 1855 and helped establish the exact size and shape of our planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping.
From the top you have an amazing view of the second longest lake of Finland and the little islands that contains. We didn’t have that much luck with the sunset but we hope you will.
COME AND DISCOVER THIS LITTLE BEATIFUL PARADISE IN CENTRAL FINLAND!!!
World Heritage in a day - Road Trip 