Original post at T3 Oulankajoki lower part Kiutaköngäs - Frontera Rusa 25.5km de infinitos meandros!
This blog post is just one section of a series of sections and posts about packraft in Oulanka National Park in Finland:
https://go.packrafting.cat/oulanka
As some of the guides I've read explain, you'll know you've gone past the end of the route (and incidentally into trouble 😜) if you start hearing people speaking Russian!
I will explain in detail the following routes:
If I had to choose only one route, I would recommend the T5 section and combine it with the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail of 12 km.
The Oulankajoki River is a very long river and is usually divided into 2–3 days. In this post I explain in detail the T3 Packrafting Oulankajoki lower part - Oulanka NP visitors center Isokuusikko - Kiutakongas - Paljakka - Russian Border which would be approximately the second day on the Oulankajoki river.
In blogs like Caj Koskinen's blog they recommend starting after Kiutaköngäs rapid to avoid portage of this rapid. There is a possibility to stop on the right bank of the river near the rapid and do a shorter portage.
The starting point of this route is the Oulanka National Park visitor center near one of the main attractions of the park, the Kiutaköngäs rapid.
The Kiutaköngäs rapid is the only tricky section and if you are not experienced packrafters it can be a very good idea to portage this rapid or start the route walking and join it after the rapid.
From Kiutaköngäs onwards, there is not a single rapid, just a fast current that allows us to navigate and peacefully observe the spectacular views of this stretch of river.
On this stretch you can enjoy all the diversity of the Oulanka National Park, with wild landscapes with Taiga forest, hills, rock canyons, rivers and gorges and with a little luck it is possible to observe wildlife as diverse as wolves, bears, lynx, moose and reindeer.
After Kiutaköngäs there is no more remarkable rapid, and we simply have a gentle navigation (in other words "paddle bastards!") that will allow us to appreciate the breathtaking scenery, changing after each meander of the river.
It is therefore a section suitable for beginners and of a special beauty with spectacular river beaches, especially in the final stretch of river before reaching the border with Russia.
Wherever you start, a visit to Kiutaköngäs is a must to be impressed by the power of nature.
The name Kiutaköngäs, as is often the case with the names of rapids, already says a lot about the rapid. The word "giuuhta" in the Sámi language refers to a deep gorge. And as already mentioned in the brief summary on Finnish toponymy, Keävngis (köngäs) is the usual ending for waterfall.
On the right bank of the river the bear path (Karhunkierros) runs parallel to the river. It is highly recommended to make the short hike from the visitor center to visit the Kiutaköngäs rapid accessible via a wooden footbridge:
Actually Kiutaköngäs I would not consider it a waterfall, at least it is not a uniform waterfall, it is rather a series of rapids with short drops with a total drop of 14 meters over a distance of 325 (4% drop or a gradient of 93 meters/km).
The first slope is the biggest you can see in the following video (the water level is from summer, you can see videos with much more water volume on the Internet):
The waterfall was formed 9500 years ago in the period of deglaciation of the area and you can see that there is a more modern right line that ends up joining the main line and also created artificially in the 1900s for the transport of logs another line but only filled with water in exceptional periods of water.
The second slope is shorter after which there is a backwater sprinkled by the water from the casca
Near the waterfall there is a fireplace and a camping area.
According to https://www.joet.info/ the waterfall is class V-VI of difficulty.
Watch the strength of the water in these videos. All "Whitewater", with few safe green areas, green to say the least because the typical color of the water here reminds me of the color of Coca-Cola (rock wall "glows" red). The red color is due to dolomitic mineral related to limestone. ich is related to limestone. The rock at the bottom is quartz mineral and the river has created its channel where the two types of minerals meet which makes the waterfall an exceptional waterfall even for what one can find in Scandinavian landscapes.
The rapid is really impressive, you can get more information at www.suomenvesiputoukset.fi.
This section can be done by canoe or in packrafts that are not suitable for whitewater. The Karhunkierros trail runs for XX kilometers parallel to the river along its right bank, until there is a point where the path separates from the course of the Oulankajoki River to head towards the Kitkajoki River.
At km 10 we have the last opportunity, the Ansakamppa refuge, to walk back along the Karhunkierros trail to the visitor center.
The final stretch is full of meanders and very interesting are the eroded sand cliffs and sandy beaches in the inner parts of the meanders and the closer we get to the border with Russia the more and more chances to have an encounter with reindeer drinking on the banks of the river. Reindeer in Finland are mostly semi-domesticated, which means that they roam free in herds that are usually owned by Sami herders.
The access track is a 25km track that does not require 4WD although it is a slightly dented gravel track.
In Jäkälämutka there is a canoe rental service.
https://kuusamosafaris.fi/melonta-kiutakongas-jakalamutka/
And it's a van paradise, see the Park4night section.
The river gradually slows down in the last stretch, but maintains a certain current that makes navigation to the Russian border very pleasant.
Do not enter the border area! having a conflict with the Russian border patrol is not a good idea at all.
Be attentive to the last exit bridge! We have different possibilities to disembark at Kitkajoki in the border area, from where a few hundred meters to Kuusinkiniemi forest road or a couple of kilometers by kayak on Oulankajoki upstream to Jäkälämutka, where after the beautiful natural sandy beach, a landing place on the right and road access to Kiutakönkää and Käylä.
Whether you return via the Karhunkierros trail as part of the day's logistics or decide to go another day you won't regret hiking this section of the trail. It is a great opportunity to view the route we have hiked from the top of the canyon walls.
The section of the Karhunkierros that initially runs parallel to the Oulanka River has a distance of approximately 10km.
A large part of this section (the initial section) runs parallel to the Karhunkierros trail. You have the following options:
This section is very well explained in Caj Koskinen's blog, the article is:
An inspiration, thanks to Caide78 and his Instagram account, I got to know this wonderful place that is the Oulanka National Park.
I recommend you take a look at Caj Koskinen's fabulous videos.
From Caj Koskinen's blog we know that they performed it at a flow rate of 32 m³/s measured at Savilampi. The flow rate is available at https://wwwi2.ymparisto.fi/i2/73/q7300100y/wqfi.html
The end of the track I mention as a pickup point at the end of the route has a couple of dreamy Park4Nights:
Here are the photos to prove it:
The goal would be to reach Kerojärvi Hiking Route in the north, there is a gravel track from the starting point, but walking such a track is always very heavy. From what I have read there are several hiking trails in the northwest of Oulankajoki, but they are very poorly marked and in the end, sooner or later, we will have to walk quite a few kilometers on track.
Ruta GPS Packrafting Oulankajoki lower part - Oulanka NP visitors center Isokuusikko - Kiutakongas - Paljakka - Russian Border
Scandinavia 2021: Packrafting Lower Oulankajoki
https://filiphaclaeys.wordpress.com/2021/08/27/scandinavia-2021-packrafting-lower-oulankajoki/
I won't get too long, I think the explanation of the anonymous poet is more than enough.
T2 Packraft en Oulankajoki river Upper Part de Oulanka al centro del National Park
T4 Packrafting Kitkajoki Upper part
See you in river smooth criminals!
The river is a living environment, changing and subject to permanent development. The publishers of the river sketches and the creators of this website cannot be held responsible in any case in case of inaccuracy, omission or error in the river sketches. The topos editors and website creators disclaim all liability in case of any accident that may occur on the rivers described in this guide.
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