Helvetinjärvi Nationalpark represents one of the most rugged forest areas in western Finland. It was established in 1982 and covers an area of 30 square kilometers. The park's scenery was admired by the artist A. Gallen-Kallela, the poet J.L.Runeberg, and their contemporaries as far back as the 19th Century.

The deep gorges that the park is known for are reminders of shifts in the earth's crust, formed 200 million years ago. The deepest cleft contains Lakes Helvetinjärvi, Luomajärvi and Kovero. In some places, the sheer cliff walls rise directly from lakes, tens of meters high. Other slopes are covered with trees, and still others turn into inaccesible jumbles of boulders. The most famous sight of the park is the Helvetinkolu cleft at the south-eastern end of Lake Iso Helvetinjärvi. This steep-sided gorge is formed in the smaller cleft which cuts across the main rift valley. Another gorge, Rontonhorha, runs across the western section of the park between Lake Haukkajärvi and Lake Kivi-Kierinkajärvi. Its floor is covered with bogs, and fringed by a shady sprucedomi nated transitional forest mires.

The cliffs of these fjord-like lakes are distinctive for their flora. In addition to many types of moss, such as reindeer moss, the flora includes other rare species, such as the meadow-grass (Poa glauca). The catchfly (Viscaria vulgaris), and ferns, such as the spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes) and forked spleenwort (Asplenium septentrionale) thrive on the rocks. Please be careful when entering the cliff areas, and kindly keep to the marked trails. The plants that live on these stones are fragile.

Visit also Haukanhieta, the magnificent sandy beach and Haukkajoki with it´s canoing route.

The forests in the Nationalpark are mostly barren lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idea) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) groves. More luxuriant vegetation can be found on the banks of streams, where species such as the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), the herb Christopher (Actaea spicata) and linden (Tilia cordata) grow. Because a large part of this National Park formerly consisted of managed forests used for logging, the birdlife in the park includes species typical of commercial forests. The untouched, old-growth forests are inhabited by such species as the red-breasted flycatcher (Ficedula parva) and wren (Troglodytes troglodytes). The rustic bunting (Emberiza rustica) prefers old, transitional forest mires. There is a rich population of gallinaceaus birds. The area is also home to the pine marten (Martes martes) and occasionally even brown bears (Ursus arctos) and lynx (Lynx lynx) can be seen here.

Limitations

Further information:

http://www.luontoon.fi/page.asp?Section=102

Forest and Park Service, Western Finland Park Area, Seitseminen National Park Visitor Center, Seitsemisentie 110, 34530 Länsi-Aure, tel. 03 442 7240, fax 03 442 7515