Sevettijärvi

Sevettijärvi and Näätämö (Skolt Sami: Čeʹvetjäuʹrr and Njauddâm, respectively) are villages north of Lake Inari in Finnish Lapland, with mostly Skolt Saami population.

Understand


Finland ceded large areas to the Soviet Union after World War II, including Petsamo (Skolt Saami: Peäccam) which now forms the Pechengsky District in Murmansk Oblast. Like for the other ceded areas most of the people were resettled in the rest of Finland. Most of the Skolt Saami population, those from Suonikylä village, ended up to the Sevettijärvi-Näätämö area. The rest were resettled to Nellim and Keväjärvi on the south-east shores of Inarijärvi. The government of Finland built new houses for the refugees and in the end the population of Sevettijärvi rose from 4 families to 55 families. The village got its first grocery store, school, and a health care station at the same time. However, only in 1979 this corner of the country was connected to the electricity grid.

The village Näätämö by the Norwegian border has traditionally been Skolt Saami land, just like Neiden (12 km into Norway) which in some contexts is regarded part of the same village.

The road from Kaamanen to Sevettijärvi was built in 1969, continued to Neiden in the 1970s, and finally paved in 1989. Earlier there was a trade route from Kaamanen to Neiden on footpaths and by waterways. The area is still very remote and outside the Finnish national road 92 there is virtually nothing but wilderness. To the north there is the vast Kaldoaivi Wilderness Area, to the south are the lake Inari and the remote Vätsäri Wilderness Area, the latter notorious for its difficult terrains. The northern limit for pine forests is just a few kilometres north from the villages. The forest line roughly follows the river Näätämöjoki.

Most people here live from reindeer husbandry, fishing, and tourism. Of the 350 inhabitants of Sevettijärvi, some 90 % are Skolt Saami. In Näätämö there are just 40 inhabitants, most of whom have moved from southern Finland to work here; actually the population trend in these villages is slightly increasing. In the Sevettijärvi elementary school the 16 pupils (in 2016) study in both Finnish and Skolt Sami.

Both villages belong to the Inari municipality.

Get in
There is a coach from Ivalo, via Inari and Kaamanen, in weekdays. National road 4 (E75) comes up from Helsinki via Rovaniemi, Ivalo, Inari, Kaamanen and Utsjoki to Tana bru, Vadsø and Vardø in Norway. Kaamanen is 25 km north from Inari and Sevettijärvi 90 km east from Kaamanen.

is the nearest by road from Kirkenes. The road 92 from Karasjok via Kaamanen, Sevettijärvi and Näätämö to Neiden on E6 is more or less the only road around (the road has the same number in Finland and Norway). The Neiden Customs Office is on the Norwegian side of the border. The border station is open only in daytime, which might not matter unless you have goods to declare. Note the time zone change. Move the time forward even if you are going westwards.

From Murmansk Oblast you can come via Kirkenes or via Raja-Jooseppi and Ivalo.

There are airports in Ivalo, Lakselv (continue via Tana bru) and Kirkenes.

Get around
Car, taxi, snowmobile, boat, ski or foot. The distance between the Sevettijärvi and Näätämö villages is.





See




Do


Boating, fishing, hiking. There are several businesses providing guiding, equipment rental and other services, arrangements should however probably be made in advance.



Camping with a tent is allowed according to the right to access. Campfires can be made with due care in the two wilderness areas, using branches and sticks from the ground, as long as no wildfire warning is in effect. As the area is remote, to go independently you should know what you are doing, even if using the trails. There are a few open wilderness huts in Vätsäri (one of which is closed in winter) and along the Pulmanki trail in the Kaldoaivi area.



Buy
Most people visiting the villages are Norwegians, as food and alcohol are much cheaper in Finland than in Norway. The grocery stores in Näätämö are remarkable in size considering their location. Trade over the border is a major income, and on the main street you'll hear much more Norwegian than Finnish.

Sleep


If you'd rather pitch your tent somewhere, just do it by an open wilderness hut or official campfire site in the wilderness areas, or anywhere at a distance from the villages and any other places where it could be disturbing – or ask a business, the services of which you are paying for.