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Location Info

Winter Warrior Finland race takes place in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park at Ylläs. Ylläs is a popular holiday center in Lapland known also for a downhill skiing center. There are two lappish villages in the area; Äkäslompolo and Ylläsjärvi. Winter Warrior Finland locations are found in Äkäslompolo village.

The event center is Visitor Centre Kellokas located 2,5 km from Äkäslompolo center. Evening party with the prize ceremony will be held at hotel Äkäshotelli. There will also be a race office at the hotel providing help and information for participants before and after the race. The hotel and other accommodation partners are located in Äkäslompolo village.

Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park

Trek from hilltop to hilltop through the arctic fells along Finland’s first hiking trail. Here you can enjoy hiking or skiing through the wilds, but still find welcoming lodgings for comfortable overnight stays in historic Lappish villages. This part of Lapland has the freshest air in the world. On dark nights look out for the amazing Northern Lights. Read more about the National Park.

Northern lights above Kellostapuli and Kesänki

Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park has around 350 kilometres (220 mi) of marked hiking trails. There are several nature trails in the National Park, which are not very demanding and have information boards on the area’s natural features and culture. There are many options for day trips. The most popular hiking trail in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park is the Hetta–Pallas Trail, which is 55 kilometres (34 mi) long. There are 14 nature trails in the National Park, of which 8 are in the Ylläs area, 4 in the Pallas area, and 2 are in the Ounastunturi Fells area.

Two fells on the race course

Kellostapuli
The steep Kellostapuli Ravine is the noble little sister of Ylläs. The top of this fell sister is hard to reach, but the easiest way to conquer her is to climb the fell ridge in the east.

On the top of Kellostapuli

Kesänki
Fill your bottle with water from a spring in Lake Kesänkijärvi. Walk up the path to the old pine trees. Sit and take a break on a fallen dead tree near the forest border. Climb up Pirunkuru Ravine. From rock to rock. Step by step. Lean to the mass of rocks on the top. Breathtaking scenery. Restlessness is long gone. Time stands still. A raven flies by, breaks the spell and guides you to the Tahkokuru lean-to shelter. The flames dance in the campfire. On the way back, your step is light. A trip to Kesänkitunturi fell is a classic.

On the top of Kesänki

Visitor Centre Kellokas

Kellokas Visitor Centre in Yllästunturi is the lounge, event centre, and nature window of all visitors in Ylläs. The centre provides information on Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, Finland’s oldest hiking trail, and on accommodation, events, vibrant fell villages, and other popular features of the fell area. Wild North Cafe & Restaurant is on your service.

Ylläs

Ylläs has many different kind of activities to offer, variety of services, events and new experiences for you on your holiday. Travel and tourism lives strongly in the area and the local people are genuine. There is two different lappish villages in the area; Äkäslompolo village and Ylläsjärvi village. There are around thousand people living in the area. Ylläs and its people welcomes you to our lives!

The race takes place in Pallas-Yllästunturi national park which is very close to Ylläs ski center in  Äkäslompolo town. Race center is at Kellokas Visitor Center.

You can find lots of more infomation about the area and general information about connections from Ylläs website.

By plane to Kittilä

Easiest way to get there is by taking a plane to Helsinki and fly to Kittilä,  from where there is a bus connection to Ylläs. Operating flight companies are Norwegian and Finnair  The distance from the airport to Äkäslompolo is 55 km / 50 min by bus.

By bus

Onnibus has  bus route from Helsinki to Ylläs. This is the cheapest way to get there!

By train

You can reach Ylläs by train from Helsinki. Board the night train in the evening, and in the morning you are already in Ylläs. You can also board the train along the route. Kolari railway station is 35 km from Ylläs and there is bus transportation from every train. Find you tickets in VR-onlineshop.

There is also car-carrier train going to Kolari. See the timetable.

By car

Naturally you can also drive. Even though we are above the arctic circle our roads are in good condition.

The race takes place in Pallas-Yllästunturi national park which is very close to Ylläs ski center in  Äkäslompolo town. The Ylläs region has a large choice of accommodation and a total bed capacity of over 23,000, so there will be accomodation available for everyone, but the race is on high season, so we would recommend that you book the accommodation as soon as possible, this you can cancel later.

For accommodation there are plenty of options. If you staying for the race only you can rent a room or an apartment from a hotel. If you are planning to stay a bit longer? We would recommend renting cottages.  You can find accommodation options here:

Accommondation deals for the year 2023 are now available for reservation:

Lapland Hotels Äkäshotelli, Lapland Hotels Ylläskaltio and Lapland Hotels Saaga

-15% Discount from the price of the day
Dates of accommondation Thursday-Monday 13.-17.4.2023 (Checkout 17.4.2023)

Reservation terms & conditions: Flexible pricing, reservation can be changed & cancelled without a fee until 6pm on the date of arrival.
Payment upon arrival.

Please use the following links for the reservations:
Lapland Hotels Saaga

FI https://booking.laplandhotels.com//l/fi/3b6718939

EN https://booking.laplandhotels.com//l/en/ccc4c0e15

Lapland Hotels Ylläskaltio

FI https://booking.laplandhotels.com//l/fi/ea5b5ca21

EN https://booking.laplandhotels.com//l/en/647e13b02

Lapland Hotels Äkäshotelli

FI https://booking.laplandhotels.com//l/fi/8260824a2

EN https://booking.laplandhotels.com//l/en/b88088955

Activities at Ylläs!

At Ylläs there is a lot to do! You can go fat biking, snow shoeing, downhill skiing, cross country skiing or take a snow mobile-/ reindeer safaris and lot more. We recommend you to stay a few days and experience the magic of Lapland while you are there.

Snow Fun Safaris logo

Snow Fun Safaris

Snow Fun Safaris Lapland is located in Äkäslompolo. They can take you to enjoy the nature by snowmobiles, husky sledges or snow shoes as well as aquaint to the life of reindeer herders. Check out their offering and weekly program on their website.

 Ylläs

You can find a lot of information about activities on

One must thing to experience is the Finnish Sauna. Swimming in an ice-hole or rolling in snow is also a tradition after sauna. In the race you get to try the ice-hole but we recommend trying it also after sauna.