Being well-known as the birthplace of the Kalevala epic, Kainuu region has its full potential to become a popular tourism destination by inheriting an enriched value of cultural heritage. As mentioned in my last blogpost, the area has many attractions representing Kalevala theme, its father, Elias Lönnrot’s journey and honoring Literary Tourism in general. However, has its potential been effectively utilized and developed during the last decade? Follow this post to discover more about this place.
Hidden attractions for an adventurous experience
Even though Kainuu has a good foundation for being a Literary Tourism destination, the region did not receive so much attention in developing more tourism products with limited projects and funding from the municipality. Behind the center area, we found out many beautiful and interesting places which still remain unpopular around Kuhmo.
Nearby Kalevala hotel in Kuhmo, located around Kalevala village which is not functioning anymore, we saw a tall building with many traditional-designed cottages surrounded by high wooden walls. The building, from the outside, looks like a small wooden castle upon a hill in the middle of the forest. After getting in and having a look, we found out that it was Pohjolan Talo, a designed destination for events, parties and conferences with Christmas theme.
A few hundred meters away from Pohjolan Talo, there is also a big building. Unfortunately, we could not have any access to the place and we did not know if it is still working or not because the look outside is quite old and ruined. Around the area, there were also many interesting details but most of them seem untouched and abandoned.
A beautiful landscape for nature lovers
Besides all the special attractions that we found, the nature in this area is absolutely amazing. Fresh air, clean water, wild animals and undamaged forest, everything you can find for a perfect trekking.
As a part of the tour, we are also guided by Vienan Portti to Kultakaivo, an exposed mineral underwater well located deep into the forest nearby the Russian border. The stream of the well moving non-stop makes the sand under the water look like dancing all the time. During sunny days, the water and the sand reflect the sunlight creating a magnificent golden color and that is the reason why they are called Kultakaivo – golden well. It is very satisfying to just stand and watch the sand moving by the stream all day long. However, this special destination is not very popular to international tourists and we could not find any information about it in English.
As you can see, there are many interesting places in Kuhmoo that have the potential to become a good tourist attraction and there are more that I can not list them all out. The area could have been developed further to create many tourism products that attract more customers’ attention and bring Kalevala closer to friends all around the world. What is your idea? Do you have any suggestions for the development of tourism here? Let me know in the comment section below and stay in touch!
Peace,
Ricky.
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