Wilderness guide Minttu Heimovirta knows Lapland like the back of her hand. But it wasn’t always that way.
Minttu Heimovirta is a biologist, nature journalist, and mother from Ylläs who owns and operates an outdoor adventure company offering nature experiences in Finnish Lapland.
Before moving to Ylläs, home to the famous “Seven Sisters” fells and Finland’s largest ski resort, in 2018, Helsinki-based Heimovirta says she never could have imagined life outside the big city. Then burnout struck – and her priorities changed.
“I needed a break…and in my mind, I had this picture of Lapland and the feeling of peace that can be found here,” Minttu explains.
A few years and one intense wilderness guide course later, Minttu and her partner Joona Kivinen decided to officially make the move north of the Arctic Circle. That’s how they ended up in Ylläs, an area of Lapland that’s nestled within the Tornio River Valley.
Now, the mother of two toddlers and co-owner of outdoor adventure company Pihka Outdoors shares her recommendations for family-friendly summer activities in Lapland.