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Last modified 25 June 2002

Driving to Sodankylä

(Road) Construction Area, comments/additions welcome!

Leaving the Tromsø site, take the road down into Fargarnes and turn left (away from Tromsø). Follow the main road (E8) to Nordkjosbotn, about 50 km from the site. Here you turn left onto the E6 towards Alta and Kirkenes but you may wish to detour a few hundred metres to the Shell or Statoil gas stations, both of which which also have small shops; Nordkjosbotn is the first place for 'cheap' petrol after leaving Tromsø. The Statoil gas station is open until 24:00.

Follow the E6/E8 to Skibotn where the E8 sweeps right and up the valley towards the Finnish border. This is a military area, though not as obviously as it once was. The border itself is a windswept place and the customs post is a few kilometres inside Finland at Kilpisjävi, 140 km into your journey.

Between the border and the customs post, you can stop to look at the Ahdaskuru Bridge (little car park on the right of the road). This 2.5m stone arch bridge was built in 1943 to carry heavy military transports travelling between the Atlantic ports and the Finnish front under the Barbarossa plan; it was the only such structure to survive destruction as the fighting came to an end. Heavy weapons would still be useful against the mosquitoes in the summer, but bug-repellant is an acceptable substitute.

Continue a further 114 km on the E8 (here the `Four Winds Road') to Kaaresuvanto (Karesuando is across the river in Sweden here; the E8 closely follows the river which makes the border between Sweden and Finland) where you can get a meal at the hotel Ratkin (a little above the village on the left - follow the signs) or at the cafe beside the gas station. Ratkin will cost you about 100FMK and about 90 minutes, it's good, but slow. The cafe will cost you 60-70FMK and much less time; the cafe is open 09-20 on weekdays, 09-18 on Saturdays and 11-20 on Sundays.

Now refreshed, get back on the E8 for another 88 km to Muonio, where you turn left for Kittila, 342 km from the Tromsø site.

Pass through Kittila and take a left for Sodankylä just as you are leaving the town at 423 km.

87 km brings you into Sodankylä, turn left, joining the main road North from Rovanemi, cross the river and, after about a kilometre, take the main turn right opposite the Post Office. Cross another river, and take the next right out of town; the turn is clearly marked to the airport (Lentoasema)

A further few kilometers past the airport brings you to the right turn into the observatory (signpost Tähtelä, watch for the EISCAT antenna and the ionosonde mast visible through the trees on your right as you get close) and 518 km after leaving the Tromsø site you can be parked outside the guest villa.