Midsummer on the Ivalojoki

This year, Midsummer was more special than usual. A small childhood dream finally came true — Lapland. Back then, I used to dream about visiting Santa Claus, but thankfully that never happened — it's all just pointless commercialism, a row of houses along the roadside. The real Lapland only begins after Rovaniemi, or more accurately, from Ivalo onwards.

With a brilliant crew, we headed much further north — into the Ivalo and Inari region. Our first stop was a deep dive into the history of the old gold rush. We visited the gold museum in Tankavaara village, then made our way to the Ivalo river, where we tackled around 30 rapids and paddled nearly 55 kilometres downstream. It was on this very river that the first gold discoveries were made back in the 19th century. We spent three nights out on the river — two of them in Metsähallitus cabins or under canvas — enjoying a tarp sauna on the wild riverbank and cooling off in the water, without seeing another soul the entire time.

Since our time on the Ivalo ended up being a little shorter than planned, we still had a chance to visit the Siida museum in Inari and explore the history and way of life of the Sámi people. We also pumped up the raft one more time and headed to the Juutuanjoki river, where I experienced the biggest rapids of my life so far — including a class 3+ rapid called Ritakoski.

We did make it to Jäniskoski (class 4+) — but only to take photos. Running it will have to wait for another time. After all, you always need a good reason to come back.

And then there was the polar day. That endless, golden light. If you think rafting is fun — and let's be honest, the Võhandu, Pärnu or Jägala can give you a taste of the excitement — you also have to admit that Estonia doesn't really have anything that takes your breath away. That's exactly why it's worth looking beyond the border and making the trip to Lapland. If that's something you're seriously considering, drop me a message and we'll make it happen.