Old mail paths and marked trails in Muotkatunturi.

Mail paths from Inari to Karigasniemi

From the late 1900s until the 1950s, mail was carried from Inari to Karigasniemi across Lake Muddusjärvi to Tirro village and from there up the Vaskojoki River to the new settlement of Pyhäjärvi. From this point, the distance to the current village of Angeli at the point where Vuopiojoki discharges into the River Inarijoki, was only 12 kilometres. The journey continued north along the River Inarijoki to Niittyvuopio house. The River Karasjoki then had to be crossed before the mail reached Heikuria, or the current village of Karigasniemi.

The northern route of the mail path led from Inari via Riutula to Kaamanen along the south bank of the River Kaamasjoki towards what is today Karigasniemi. A road completed in 1943 that German soldiers had Soviet prisoners of war and German prison inmates build as forced labour ran further north than the mail path. This road, the current Road 92, leads from Kaamanen to Karigasniemi between the Muotkatunturi and Paistunturit fells. On this road, a red granite monument stands in the shade of mountain birches in Kaamasmukka where the prisoner camp used to be. According to the Russian inscription, it marks the grave of eight Russian prisoners. They escaped from the camp and were executed by the Germans. From the late 1930s till the 1960s, mail was carried on foot in summer and in a sleigh pulled by reindeer in winter. Finally, snowmobiles and mopeds were harnessed for this purpose.

Muotka marked trail is not a mail path

The Finnish Tourism Association marked a trail through Muotkatunturi fells from Tirro to Karigasniemi in the early 1960s. The trail markings were orange paint dots on trees and stones. The first reference to the marked trail of Muotka dates back to 1962. It is found in the Hiker’s Book of Northern Finland published by the Tourism Association’s hiking division and compiled by Antero Tuomisto. The marked trail is also mentioned in the Hiker’s Guide to Northern Finland published by the Finnish Tourism Association’s hiking division in 1967 (4th edition). The author of this book was Vesa Mäkinen. The 5th edition published in 1975 describes the trail in these words: “The new marked trail of Muotka takes the hiker through the fell uplands.”

However, Hans Niittyvuopio (known as Muotkan Hanssi) says that the ‘maintenance’ of the marked trail came to an end already in the 1960s. You may nevertheless still find orange dots on rocks in Muotkatunturi area, and this tells you that you are following the Tourism Association's marked trail.

By train to Rovaniemi