Ruka

Ruka is a ski resort and village near Kuusamo in the Oulu province of northern Finland.

Rukatunturi's highest point is 492 m. The longest run in the mountain is 1,300 m. In winter Ruka is the place to be for people who love winter sports. In summer time Ruka welcomes people to enjoy the beautiful nature, for example as a base for hiking the Karhunkierros trail or shorter hikes in the Ruka area.

Understand


Ruka is part of the Kuusamo municipality, with the centre Kuusamo and the airport some 23 km to the south.

Ruka got its first dauntless downhill skiers already in the 1930s, but it took until 1954 before the first prepared slope, the modern day Front Slope, was opened. The first ski lift was opened three years later, and a hotel-restaurant Kaltiomaja opened in 1962. Since then the resort has been steadily growing and the modern, pedestrian friendly centre was completed in 2010. The resort has been owned and developed by the Finnish company Aho Group since 1974.

Ruka offers the longest skiing season out of any resort in Finland, over 200 days a year. The First Snow Track (Ensilumenlatu) is opened in early October and the slopes stay open until early May. The resort is mostly a winter sports centre, but since the 2000s Ruka has been developed and marketed as a summer destination as well.

Ruka is the second most popular ski resort in Finland (after Levi) having 23,000 beds, 35 slopes, 125 kilometres of cross-country ski tracks, some 30 restaurants, and 549,000 registered nights a year (in 2018–2019).



Get in
The simplest way to get to Ruka is to fly to Kuusamo and take the airport bus to Ruka. If you travel by train from southern Finland, the nearest train stations are in Oulu, Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi; also Kajaani may be an option. From there, take a bus to Kuusamo. You can bring your car on some of the trains. Driving from southern Finland will take around 10 hours.

Get around
The new Ruka Pedestrian Village was finished in November 2010. You can now walk to the slopes from the hotels without any road crossings. Also Talvijärvi is close to the slopes. Some accommodations are some 5 km away, more suitable for those coming for cross-country skiing or other activities.

By bus
There are two coach connections a day on weekdays between Kuusamo and Ruka. There is also a dial-a-ride service available from Kuusamo to Ruka. It can be ordered using Matkahuolto Trip Planner and Tickets mobile app. The passenger can pick up the ride up to five days, can check availability at any time, and secure the ride as well as the seat just by ordering transportation. The app always shows the final binding price before confirming the order.

By taxi

 * Smartphone app: Taksini is available from App Store and Google Play. Other apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi.

See


Although the highest hills here are often referred to as fells, there are no true fells here. However, the adjacent peaks of Ruka massif are by far the tallest hills around. The views from Valtavaara are well-known. Also the views from Juhannuskallio and from Konttainen are very nice. You can also enjoy the views from Ruka. In Juhannuskallio there are also caves, the biggest one known as Pirunkirkko ("Devil's church").
 * Fells

Do


In winter the ski resort offers are the main things to do in Ruka. There is also a large cross-country skiing route network (90 km). In summer the beautiful nature provides a lot to do, e.g. visiting Valtavaara-Pyhävaara Nature Reserve.
 * Observe and photograph Aurora borealis during long winter nights.
 * Downhill snowsports and cross country skiing
 * Summer sled track in summer - accessed with the same lift as the pistes
 * Hiking: Karhunkierros (173358369).jpg
 * Summer sled track in summer - accessed with the same lift as the pistes
 * Hiking: Karhunkierros (173358369).jpg
 * Summer sled track in summer - accessed with the same lift as the pistes
 * Hiking: Karhunkierros (173358369).jpg
 * Hiking: Karhunkierros (173358369).jpg

Programme services




Eat




Sleep


There are many commercial lodgings: hotel rooms, apartments and cabins. In the Valtavaara Nature reserve and along the Karhunkierros trail there are lean-to shelters and campfire sites where you can camp overnight for free (and also open wilderness huts farther along Karhunkierros).

Connect
Postal code: 93830 Rukatunturi or 93825 Rukatunturi, the latter a special code used by most businesses in the village.

Go next

 * 20–25 km from Ruka you can find two national parks: Oulanka and Riisitunturi.