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Kaldoaivi is the largest of the Finnish wilderness areas, and the wilderness continues on the Norwegian side of the border. The area is mostly highland with gentle fells and treeless fell heath alternating with sparse mountain birch forest, with the odd deep and steep river valley. In the south-west there is a large protected mire area: Sammuttijänkä-Vaijoenjänkä. There is a 77-km marked hiking trail through the area from the Sevettijärvi village to the lake Pulmankijärvi near Nuorgam and another following the old Anárašmáđe/Inarinpolku trade route from Sevettijärvi to Karlebotn by the Barents Sea.
The Kaldoaivi Wilderness Area is the largest wilderness reserve in Finland, located in the municipalities of Utsjoki and Inari in Lapland. It was established in 1991 like all the other 11 wilderness areas in Lapland. Its area is 2,924 square kilometres (1,129 mi2). The large area of roadless wilderness continues outside the borders of Finland and the official area to Norway. It is governed by the Metsähallitus.
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Saamenpolku
The Sami Trail is an 87-km circular trail from Sevettijärvi to Näätämö and back. The trail follows old paths used by locals. First it takes the hiker deep into the labyrinth of lakes and forest south from the road, and later up to the treeless heaths in Kaldoaivi Wilderness Area. The trail follows the route Sevettijärvi–Kirakkajärvi–Näätämö–Rousajärvi–Opukasjärvi–Sevettijärvi, and takes about one week to accomplish. The trail is ranked demanding and requires some orienteering skills. There are three open wilderness huts and several campfire sites on the trail.
Nuõrttsaaʹmi äʹrbbvuõttpõrtt
Small museum and community centre in a standard-type house built for resettled Skolt Saami, with outhouses. The adjacent outdoor museum features a reconstructed Skolt Saami village, modeled after the Suonijoki (Suõ'nnjel) village. Museum shop with literature and Skolt Saami handicraft.
Pyhittäjä Trifon Petsamolaisen kirkko
Unlike most Samis, the Skolt Sami are orthodox. Designed by Ole Albert Gottleben and finished in 1951, this simple wooden church is an example of functionalist architecture. It was first an orthodox prayer room (chasovnya) and after a renovation in 1992 it was designated a church.
The Näätämöjoki river flows through wilderness for 40 km before ending in the Arctic Sea in Norway. The river has a naturally breeding Arctic Sea salmon population and is subject to fishing trips from the Näätämö village. The river cannot be reached by car anywhere in Finland. There is a lean-to shelter by the river some 8 km from Näätämö. For fishing salmon you need to buy a permit online or otherwise.
The Finnish Forest Administration tells: "In Vätsäri you can experience the astonishing silence of a wilderness in its natural state. The remote location of Vätsäri, [...], in roadless backwoods, means that mass tourism would never disturb the peace of the area." The extremely rugged mosaic of pine forests, mires, lakes and creeks is difficult to navigate, so experience is truly needed to go independently. The area is considered the most difficult to hike in the whole of Finland. There are no marked trails through the Vätsäri area but the 35-km Piilola Trail going through the southern part, ending up in Norway, and the Saami Trail, which climbs up to the fell called Semekurtta about 6 km after leaving Sevettijärvi. From Semekurtta one can have a view of this notorious landscape.
Small fell just some 4 km south from Näätämö village at the Norwegian border. Guided hiking trips from Näätämö. The original Inari Sami name Juovlâlâhtuodâr means a fell with rugged grounds but as word for Christmas, juovlah, is so similar, the name has been mistranslated into Finnish as Joulutunturi, the Christmas Fell.