Week 47 Äkäsmylly Mill The calm stream of the River Äkäsjoki is quickly interrupted by a forked waterfall whose surging power is harnessed by a water mill built in 1946. In addition to this still functional grain mill, other buildings are also intact such as a drying barn that was moved to the location. ©Arctic Idea
Week 46 Varkaanoja Ice Art Exhibition is open all winter. Freeze your holiday. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 45 How to Enjoy Life? Visit Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 44 Visit Kukastunturi Fell Kukastunturi Fell is friendly: a marked trail goes to the top, and the scenery is unbelievable. In the north the eye is attracted by the continuous chain of treeless Pallas fell tops; in the east, almost as if within hand’s reach, is Lainiotunturi Fell, and in the south rises the noble Ylläs Fell. ©Arctic Idea
Week 43 Race on ice Between October and November, the lakes of Ylläs transform into skating tracks. Skating on crystal clear ice can be an astonishing, heavenly experience for the senses. The most comfortable way to skate on natural ice is to use long-bladed touring skates. It is also beneficial to use long poles for acceleration and ensuring safety. Remember safety: carry ice claws and exercise common sense. Examine the strength of the ice with a pole. ©Arctic Idea
Week 42 Ice flowers Winter Art Exhibition. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 41 First Snow Ylläs welcomes winter! ©Arctic Idea
Week 40 The last cloudberry Take a trip to the deep forest. If you are lucky enough, you might find the very last cloudberry. Served frozen. Taste of life. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 39 Precious Bumblebees Given their ability to endure the cold and humidity of Lappi, bumblebees are the most important pollinators of the area. For example, the size of the lingonberry harvest depends on the amount of diligent, buzzing bumblebees in the area. Furthermore, there is a direct correlation between the size of the pollinator and the size of the cloudberry: a big pollinator will bring a lot of pollen, which is enough to fertilize the entire fruit, i.e. a big berry. ©Arctic Idea
Week 38 The Winged Hare Foot Not all birds are into flying. For instance, the willow ptarmigan − the Sámi bird of life − travels mostly by foot. For the heavy, short-winged and strong-legged bird, walking consumes less energy than flying. Its feathered legs make it adept at walking on snow; aptly, its scientific species name is derived from the words lagos ("hare") and pous ("foot"). ©Arctic Idea
Week 37 Colour celebration The Black Bearberry is tenacious enough to "climb" all the way up on high fells. Conquering territory, it has great success thanks to its stem, branching widely along the ground. In autumn the Black Bearberry celebrates its success in the fells: its bright crimson colour is unmistakable. Contrary to many other northern berries, this is no favourite of gourmet chefs, as it does not taste like much. But the Willow Grouse and Ptarmigan eat these berries with good appetite. ©Arctic Idea
Week 36 Immortalize the Autumn Colours The autumn colours of Ylläs are at their vividest at just about the same time of the year each year: during the second week of September. Take a camera with you and photograph nature up close and personal. Seek new perspectives. Capture a lonely, orange blueberry leaf on a lichen-covered stone: like a sun in space. Big things are to be found inside small ones. ©Arctic Idea
Week 35 Fast but not furious Hazel grouse is excellent at short distances. Huge flying muscles speed up the little grouse so fast that even the goshawk faces a serious challenge to catch the delicious prey. ©Arctic Idea
Week 34 Watch Mammals If you want to see large mammals, grab your binoculars and go to a fell. The best animal watching fells are Lainio, Aakenus and Linkukero. With a bit of luck and patience, you will see an elk grazing by a ditch. With a lot of luck you may see a bear doing its thing. It is also worth it to peer up to the sky, because the area belongs to the kingdom of the eagle. ©Arctic Idea
Week 33 Visit The Arctic Ocean Owing to the Gulf Stream, the Arctic Ocean is swarming with life: schools of fish getting washed ashore with the tides, wandering whales, seagull colonies on mountain slopes and salmon swimming upstream to spawn. All this is easily within reach – the distance from Ylläs to the Lyngen fjord, for example, is only 300 km. ©Arctic Idea
Week 32 Heavenly Falcon The Peregrine Falcon is a divine bird of prey: in ancient Egypt it was even worshipped as an incarnation of the child of Horus, the sun god, and the nobility had their pet falcons balmed and buried with them. An attacking Peregrine Falcon is far from a mummy; diving with its wings drawn up this is the fastest of birds, reaching a velocity of up to 350 kilometres per hour! ©Arctic Idea
Week 31 Treats from Nature Late summer is a time of abundance in the nature of Lapland. Sweet berries, aromatic mushrooms, fresh fish – nature is full of tasty treats! If you are a traveler whose belly dictates your actions, you need to get to know the myriad delicacies nature has to offer. ©Arctic Idea
Week 30 Mushrooming The mushroom season begins with the boletus. Boletuses are safe to eat; the Tylopilus felleus is inedible due to its bad taste, however. In pine heath forests, you can look for pine boletes and matsutake, also known as the pine mushroom, which is a great delicacy among the Japanese. ©Arctic Idea
Week 29 Go on a Sun Worship Trip Go on a trip dedicated to admiring the midnight sun. The sun’s magical night light is at its most beautiful on the fells. So take some food with you and climb up to Keskinen laki, one of the peaks of Ylläs fell, to spend the midnight hours. ©Arctic Idea
Week 28 Full of Colours. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 27 Animal of Life Without the reindeer and its relatives, the deer family, there would be very few people in the Arctic areas. The culture and whole existence of about 30 northern peoples is based on either wild caribou hunting or reindeer herding. At the summer round-up the reindeer calves are ear-marked. ©Arctic Idea
Week 26 Well-Connected. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 25 Pillow filling The bog landscape of these northern regions is softened in summer by cottongrass. The most common species are Tall Cottongrass and Tussock Cottongrass. In the old days, pillows and mattresses were filled with the "cotton wool" of the Cottongrasses. Material for the textile industry is nowadays obtained from well humified Tussock Cottongrass. These fibers are at its best in e.g. knitted caps. Enjoy the Midnight Sun! ©Arctic Idea
Week 24 River Adventures Roaring rapids and serene streams – river lovers will find plenty to explore on Ylläs. And now the time is perfect for river adventures! ©Arctic Idea
Week 23 Bog-rosemary is flourishing at aapa mires. Summer is here. ©Arctic Idea
Week 22 On the Move Long migration distances are an impossibility for mammals: running a thousand kilometres requires ten times the energy that flying the same distance does! Nevertheless, many northern mammals share the tendency to some kind of seasonal migration. For example, moose spend the winter in dense forests and the summer in wetlands and fells. The basic motive for this migration is to secure the availability of sufficient food. ©Arctic Idea
Week 21 A most necessary fur collection Most northern animals will put on a thick winter coat in the autumn and light summer coat in the spring. The fundamental regulating factor in the timing of this switch-over is the number of daylight hours, but temperature, too, is involved. The kind of fur is also a matter of genetics: if weasels from the Ylläs are moved to a milder climate, their white winter fur will be preserved for several generations despite the lack of snow. ©Arctic Idea
Week 20 The River During the weekend last ices cruised through Tornion–Muonionjoki. The great river is free. ©Arctic Idea
Week 19 The artist of the spring is Water. Enjoy with sparks and sounds. ©Arctic Idea
Week 18 Embrace the North. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 17 Power of Nature The spring storm hit Ylläs last sunday. The storm came in like a lion, wind speed was as high as 32 metres per second. ©Arctic Idea
Week 16 Towards the light. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 15 Fabulous fishing place. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 14 Fairytales. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 13 Looking for Venus? Adress: After sun set. Northwest sky. Between Earth and Sun. Venus. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 12 Touch the sky. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 11 Feel the spirit of freedom. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 10 The Northern Cactus Trees are at the mercy of winter weather; tossed about by the wind, whipped by snow storms, bitten by frost. In the winter, the pine lives on the water accumulated inside the stem just like a cactus. Water flows even if the stem is frozen, because in milder weather the tree is able to distribute water into the dehydrated needles. ©Arctic Idea
Week 9 Shadows from the past In the past, natural meadows were highly valued – still in the 20th century, landlords would trade their forests for swamp meadows, whose monetary value today is negligible. Heading off to the meadows in late summer was a big event. All those who were fit enough to work for their food participated. Nowadays an observant wanderer will still notice signs of the past in nature: ruined barns and haystack poles in meadows and mires. ©Arctic Idea
Week 8 "Winter holidays for everybody. Ylläs" ©Arctic Idea
Week 7 Dear Wind The summer wind is refreshing and the winter breeze freezing. It is always windier on fells than down below. The wind speed on a fell can be up to 50–60 metres per second, a velocity equal to that of a tropical hurricane! ©Arctic Idea
Week 6 The blue hour The blue twilight of the Arctic winter day has charmed innumerable people with its beauty. Especially the blue hour of afternoon is enjoyable. This phenomenon depends on the cloudiness of the sky. If the weather is clear at the moment of sunset, the remaining light is scattered directly from the sky, so that the shorter blue wavelengths form the majority and we see the sky as blue. ©Arctic Idea
Week 5 Winter Art If you want to see ice leathers, snow butterflies and winter flowers your art gallery is obvious: the Spring. There are plenty of beatiful springs near the fells and open mires. Have a nice art trip! ©Arctic Idea
Week 4 Unique helpers Of the mammals of the north, only the reindeer can survive through the winter on a monotonous diet of lichens. Digesting the lichen is made possible by the reindeer’s unique little helpers: in winter, the reindeer’s rumen is inhabited by one-celled animal organisms (protozoa) instead of bacteria. ©Arctic Idea
Week 3 Meet the Wizard Can you see the light? Climb up to the fell top. Meet Zeus. Seize the day. Freeze the moment. ©Arctic Idea
Week 2 Lunar illusion The moon looks enormous at the horizon.  When it has been up for a while, our eyes tell us it has become smaller. But a photo series reveals the truth: the size is the same. We are dealing with a purely psychological phenomenon – an illusion. The full moon brings midnight light in the middle of winter; light enough for outdoor life! ©Arctic Idea
Week 1 Snow or sand? The life of a snow crystal is one of continual change. After only 24 hours, the beautiful stellar snow crystal has withered; part of it evaporates and what remains condenses on the snow bed. Wind will finish the art work. Just before darkness there is a magical moment when Sahara and Ylläs are alike. ©Arctic Idea
Week 52 Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas. ©Arctic Idea
Week 51 CELESTIAL FIRE Northern nights are the playground of light. In the mid-winter, stars twinkle and northern lights dance in the sky. Become enlightened. ©Arctic Idea
Week 50 Lunar magic In midwinter the Sun’s radiation is negligible, which – like summer – helps to even out the daily temperature fluctuations. In the period of polar night, the full moon is more important as a source of light than the Sun itself! Moonlight is full of magic. Just look at your car roof to prove that... ©Arctic Idea
Week 49 Your window to northern culture and nature. Ylläs. ©Arctic Idea
Week 48 To fly or not to fly? The young Whooper Swans in northern Lapland are in a hurry to grow: they die if they are not able to fly when the watercourses freeze over. But the national bird of Finland is used to the cold and likes it in the Ylläs, staying here until the ice comes. ©Arctic Idea