Kuusamo in Finland
Thursday, 18 December 2014 - 01:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union General
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Kuusamo-Ruka in winter © Alfred Dengan/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the
Northern Ostrobothnia region . The municipality has a population of 16,000 and covers an area of 5,808.92 square kilometres (2,242.84 sq mi) of which 830.81 km2 (320.78 sq mi) is water. Kuusamo is a major center for winter sports and receives approximately a million tourists every year. One of the largest ski resorts in Finland,
Ruka , is situated in Kuusamo. Ruka is also the host of many international competitions in ski jumping, cross country skiing and Nordic combined. The 2005
World Championships of Freestyle Skiing was held in Kuusamo.
Kuusamo Airport is located 6 kilometres (4 mi) north-east from Kuusamo town centre.
The city lies on a roughly 250-meter-high plateau, from which the waters flow in five directions. In the area of Kuusamo there are many hills (Finn. vaara ) and fells (Finn. tunturi ). The highest elevations are Valtavaara (492 m), Kuntivaara (481 m), Iivaara (469 m) and Rukatunturi (462 m), the site of the Ruka ski center.
View from the Livaara Hill towards Lake Iijärvi © Guillaume Baviere/cc-by-2.0
The main economic activities in Kuusamo include forestry, reindeer husbandry, small industries and tourism. Given the climatic conditions, milk and meat production have a major role, including reindeer meat from the approximately 10,000 semi-domesticated reindeer which roam the pastures in Kuusamo. The forestry and wood processing industry also employs over 1,000 people.
There are around 6,000 cottages (mökki) in Kuusamo, more than any other municipality in Finland. The Ruka ski center, centered on the 492-metre Rukatunturi, is one of the largest in Finland with a total of 16,000 beds, four hotels and 28 restaurants. Activities include skiing, snowmobile tours and excursions with reindeer and dog sleds. Ruka benefits from a long snowy season, from mid-October to mid-June. In summer, Kuusamo is a popular wilderness destination for fishing, kayaking and hiking. The most famous hiking trail (as well as Finland’s most popular) is
Bear’s Ring (
Karhunkierros ), which runs for 80 km (50 mi), mostly in the
Oulanka National Park .
Read more on
Kuusamo ,
Ruka-Kuusamo ,
Kuusamo Airport and
Wikipedia Kuusamo . Learn more about the
use of photos . To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
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Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
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Corruption Perceptions Index -
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World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
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Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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