Visatupa has accommodations in 2-4 person rooms or in 4-6 person apartments. Rooms are in a bigger building where a self-service kitchen, toilets and shower are available. A big recreation room is located in the Losotupa-building. There are some tablegames and it is very suitable for having meetings or educational events. Each apartment has a kitchenette, toilet, shower and electrical sauna inside. In all 15 rooms Visatupa can accomodate 55 persons, so even a bus group can to sleep a peaceful night. All meals are served in the main building. 4 x 4-6 person apartments Each apartment has bedroom for 2, living room (2-4 beds), kitchenette, toilet, shower and electrical sauna. 4 rooms with 3+1 beds 3 rooms with 2+1 beds Facilities include 4 toilets, 2 showers, self-service kitchen, laundry and a big recreation room with AV-equipment. This big room is suitable for arranging meetings and education for approx. 30 persons. Downstairs: one room for 4 and one room for 5 persons, two toilets/showers, self-service kitchen and laundry. Upstairs: one room for 2 and one room for 3 persons, toilet The smaller room downstairs has a fire place.

The year is divided in two seasons in Visatupa: green summer and white winter. Green season lasts from June till the end of colourful September. The white season begins in November and continues to the end of April. Green season (summer, autumn): * swimming and fishing in the lake or in nearby rivers * participating in farm chores * cycling * rowing a boat * berry picking during August and September (cloudberry, blueberry, lingonberry) * beautiful autumn colors in 2nd and 3rd of September. White season (winter, spring): * cross-country skiing (3-7 km tracks) * ice-fishing * ride in reindeer's or snowmobile's sled * kick sled * swimming in a hole through the ice when having a sauna by the lake * nearest winter sports center. 44 km (downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, spa). Click the pictures to see details of summer and winter day programs. All-year-round: * possibility to participate in daily farm work and gettin to know about milk production in the arctic climate * heating up the sauna by the lake with firewood * having a moment in a log shelter and frying a sausage or making original Finnish style crepes on the camp fire * sight-seeing trips on request to the surrounding destinations: Sodankyla (center of municipality, 300 years old wooden church and an art gallery introducing life of Same-people), to Luosto-center (amethyst mine, spa, ski center) or a day in Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle (the city with many shops, Arktikum research center and museum of Lapland, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park )

a pleasant country holiday place at a modern dairy cattle farm. Visatupa is a 20 years old family enterprise located in the very middle of Finnish Lapland, 83 km north from Rovaniemi and 52 km south from Sodankyla close to the road E75. Visatupa has been a member of the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) since the beginning. Visatupa is also a member of Country Holidays. Visatupa has accommodation in four separate buildings in the curtilage. There are 11 cosy and clean rooms in 2 buildings, each for 2-5 people. These houses have showers and toilets in shared facilities. Visatupa also has accommodation in 4 well equipped apartments. They each have their own kitchenette, toilet, shower and electrical sauna. Visatupa has beds for 55 persons. Every house has self-service cooking. Tasty and plentiful meals are served in the buffet table in the main building. In the evening you can relax in the sauna by the lake and in summer go swimming to the beautiful Saarijarvi-lake. In winter a hole through the ice is open, so that you can dip in the cold water instead of rolling in the snow. After sauna you can spend a memorable time by the camp fire in a log shelter. This shelter is big enough for 30-40 persons. In winter you can find cross-country ski tracks in the surroundings. Visatupa has cross-country skiing equipment for 4-5 persons. Alternatively you can borrow snowshoes or learn to drive a snowmobile. Roads are kept in perfect condition even in the worst snow season. Visatupa has heating plugs for 4 cars or caravans. Links to our co-operation partners homepages maatila loma maatilaloma maaseutumatkailu Lappi Lapissa leirikoulu retkeilymaja hostel hostelli Finnhostel lomarengas luontoloma farm holiday country holiday countryside Lapland in camp school youth hostel Finnhostel nature

GREEN SEASON IN VISATUPA MONTHLY. Summer in middle Lapland begins almost in the end of May - sun shines 24 hours a day already in the first day of June. The begin of June is interesting time to follow the complete change of the nature and it's amazing run to green verdancy after the white winter. Darkness gives way to the light, which captivates the nature and people. The short but bright green summer has arrived... Latest in May nature gives up the white cover and ice leaves from lakes and rivers. from the warmth of the south to nest in the north and in a couple of days time you can meet many local and passing species. In one month you can experience how short Lapland's spring really is - it is actually couple of weeks transitional stage between winter and summer... It is our time to prepare for a new busy and beautiful season. Begin of June is busy time with farm work in fields. Travellers can follow and participate in the work on the fiels or restoring the courtyard - among other things planting the potatoes is current during the second week of June. The first half of June is a pleasent time to wander in the nature and do fishing, because mosquitos arrive (if they arrive at all, like in the summers 1999, 2001 and 2002) earliest in the third week. Cows get free to the fields traditionally before the Midsummer (around June 24th). In Visatupa you can find the real spirit for Midsummer holiday: going to sauna, swimming in lake Saarijarvi even in the middle of the night, 24 hours of sunshine... Right after midsummer the silage making begins and it continues for a couple of weeks to the beginning of July. July is the warmest time in Lapland. Mosquitos are hiding during the sunshine, because they cannot fly in hot weather. Blueberries and cloudberries are ready to pick in the end of July. Visatupa is surrounded by swamps and we can guide our customers to suitable places to pick cloudberries. July is the most famous holiday month in Finland, so we recommend that you make a reservation in advance. Nights start to get shorter in July. In August the air gets cooler and the evenings darker, but Lapland's summer continues pretty often almost as warm as July. Now summer is coming to it's end. Nature gives the rest of colourful and sweet berries. Many kinds of mushrooms (boleti, russulas, milk caps...) are waiting for pickers and also lingonberries are ready in the end of August. Now is also the second time to make a smaller bit of silage in farm. The leaves of trees begin slowly changing their colours. Nature starts preparing for approaching winter, but before that the nature is very colourful - like dressed for a ball... September is a month of autumn colours. The best time to travel is around September 10th, so the first two weeks are the best time to find beautiful colours of Lapland's nature. Visatupa is located in the middle of Lapland. This enables day trips to Lapland's mountain areas, if you travel with personal car. The colourful leaves fall down from the trees in a couple of days - as a consequence of hard wind, which comes usually in the second half of the month. Now nature is ready for the winter, but it has to wait naked at least until the end of October before the snow fall down to earth. Visatupa has various equipment for clients recreation: sets of badminton racquets, frisbee, darts, cricket, croquet, petanque and football. You can also borrow bicycles and make a trip for example to a nearby village. A rowing-boat equipped with life jacket is waiting by the lake for rowers and fishermen. Visatupa is just by the lake Saarijarvi and you can most likely catch perch, but also lavaret (white fish) and small pikes are possible to catch too. Two rivers, Raudanjoki and Seipajoki, are also suitable for fishing. They are both easy to reach and are located only a couple of kilometres from Visatupa. Raudanjoki is bigger and is suitable for canoeing - more you can find. Visatupa is located 4 kilometers from the road E75 and this enables good connections to north and south with public transportation. This way, day trips to Sodankyla and Rovaniemi are possible to do on your own. is the nearest town with various services and also many opportunities for sight seeings: A church over 300 years made to convert the sami people an art gallery with paintings of old time life in sami village made by Andreas Alariesto nature path with art Pappilanniemen luontopolku home district museum. Nature parks in Luosto and Pyhatunturi attract travellers with beautiful mountain nature and well marked trails. The Arctic Circle and the city of Rovaniemi are worth a visit in summertime also. with summertime toboggan track and golf park are interesting places to see and experience. Rovaniemi is also known for its active summer program with various festivals.

Erkki and Ida Sammalkangas came to the middle of a gloomy forest along the road to Seipajarvi and built the house in the year 1938. They decided to give the name Erkkila for the farm. They rented two hectares of land from the government by the lake Saarijarvi. The place was suitable to build a house, because there was also a small stream which was open most of the winter. The first change of generations was in 1973, when Vilho Sammalkangas bought the farm from his parents. Next year he married Milka and a year later from that Janne born. The second (and last) child Aino was born in spring 1977. The second change between generations was during the spring 1998 when Janne became a member of the manor of Erkkila after Milka decided to retire. Tourism began in 1980. After two heavy storms, which caused great damage to the forest, the host family decided to invest seriously in tourism. The first new house for tourism was built during 1984-85. Now Visatupa had beds for a bus group of guests. The second construction investment was during the years 1989-90. The two houses containing four apartments were built and the old main building got a water supply with toilet and showers indoors. Today Visatupa can accomodate 55 persons and with extra beds for up to 70 persons. The dairy cattle has been under the protection of the house during all these years, but without tourists around the world the manor of Erkkila would be a very quiet and lonely farm. You are welcome to spend a night in Visatupa and experience the country holiday by yourself.

 Clothes dry cleaning
 Conference and meeting room
 Facsimile services
 Kitchen
 Laundry services/washing machine
 Smoke-free guest rooms
 Pets are accepted
 Quiet surroundings
 Sauna
 Private/Ensuite bathroom
 Tea and coffee making facilities
 Phone at reception
 Common room with a TV set