8 Nature & Parks in Enontekio That You Shouldn't Miss

Reviewed By JariJK - Kouvola, Finland

Malla Strict Nature Reserve (also known as Mallan luonnonpuisto) is situated in the village of Kilpisjärvi, Enontekiö. Some of the most important sights of Kilpisjärvi are located in Malla Strict Nature Reserve: The Three Nations' Border Point and Kitsiputous Falls. Read separate TripAdvisor reviews about them in the category "Things to do" in Kilpisjarvi and Enontekio. Enontekiö is the municipality and Kilpisjärvi is a village there. We walked from Kilpisjarven Retkeilykeskus (Kilpisjärvi Hiking Center) to Malla Strict Nature Reserve. The distance is 2.3 kilometers. It is also possible to drive a car to the parking place of Malla Strict Nature Reserve (address Käsivarrentie 14850, Enontekiö), which is situated next to the highway E8 in northern Kilpisjärvi, quite near the Norwegian border. In these ways you get to the eastern gate of Malla Strict Nature Reserve. The third possibility is to take M/S Malla boat cruise from Kilpisjarven Retkeilykeskus to the western point of Malla Strict Nature Reserve, 2.9 kilometers from The Three Nations' Border Point. We walked from the eastern gate (the parking place) into Malla Strict Nature Reserve. First we saw Siilaskoski Rapids under the bridge which leads from the parking place to Malla Strict Nature Reserve. It is allowed to walk only on marked paths there. It is about 2 kilometers to the crossroads of two paths. There you see a mystical Rakokivi Stone (4 meters high) with a crack in the middle. There you can choose whether to hike on the top of Pikku-Malla Fell (distance about 1.5 kilometers from the crossroads) or whether to hike to The Three Nations's Border Point (distance 8-9 kilometers from the crossroads). We decided to walk towards The Three Nations Border Point. In the halfway between the crossroads and The Three Nations' Border Point you see Kitsiputous Falls (aka Gihcigorzi). There are several waterfalls there and they are 5-30 meters high. The Three Nations' Border Point is the point where the borders of Finland, Sweden and Norway meet. From there you have to walk the same route back to the parking place because this isn't a circle route. The distance from the parking place to The Three Nations' Border is 10-11 kilometers and then the same 10-11 kilometers back, in total 20-22 kilometers. But if you want to stop over on the top of Pikku-Malla Fell it is 3 kilometers more. If you take M/S Malla boat cruise (about half an hour) from Kilpisjarven Retkeilyskeskus to Malla Strict Nature Reserve you have to walk 2.9 kilometers to The Three Nations' Border Point. From there you can walk back to the boat or hike through Malla Strict Nature Reserve to the parking place (10-11 kilometers). On the way you see Kitsiputous Falls and Rakokivi Stone. From the parking place it is 2.3 kilometers along a path to Kilpisjarven Retkeilykeskus. The path starts next to the parking place, from the other side of the highway E8. There are a campfire site and a dry toilet (you need own toilet papers) at Kuohkimajärvi open wilderness hut which is situated near The Three Nations' Border Point. Other services are not available in Malla Strict Nature Reserve or at the parking place. Campfires and pitching a tent are allowed only at Kuohkimajärvi open wilderness hut. Lighting campfires is forbidden even there if a forest fire warning is in effect. We really loved Malla Strict Nature Reserve. It is so beautiful!