Oulanka National Park is a national park in the Northern Ostrobothnia and Lapland regions of Finland.
The Oulanka National Park was established in 1956 and was expanded in 1982 and 1989.
The Oulanka National Park borders the Paanajärvi National Park in Russia. Paanajärvi Park is four times bigger than Oulanka National Park.
From 2002, Oulanka was the first of the two Finnish national parks which became part of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s PAN Parks, the other one being the Southwestern Archipelago National Park.
Oulanka National Park Area covers around 104 square miles.
The traditional Finnish concept of everyman’s right and reindeer husbandry significantly impacted the identification of the Wilderness in Oulanka National Park.
The difference in temperature between the high rising fells and low river valleys make an ideal environment for several rare plants like the park’s emblem: the calypso.
Riverbeds and alluvial meadows are home to rare butterflies and 100 bird species nest in the park. Rare birds like the Siberian Jay and the Capercaillie also take refuge in these herb-rich forests.
Only about a kilometre’s walk away from the Oulanka Visitor Centre you will be stunned by the magnificent rapids of Kiutaköngäs. Kiutaköngäs Rapids is 325 metres long.