The best of the summer season has arrived in Finland. If this country becomes a cold and dark land in winter, the arrival of summer causes just the opposite effect. And that is especially noticeable in its northern part.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (Ilmatieteen Laitos) has predicted that in Utsjoki, which is the northernmost municipality in Finland and in the European Union, located in Lapland at the border with Norway, the sun will stay illuminating the sky for the next two months and will not set until July 28th.
Those so-called 'Nightless nights' or 'Midnight sun', which sometimes can be irritating for some inhabitants of this sparsely populated area because they affect their sleep, have become an attraction for foreign tourists.
Laura Virkunnen, a travel adviser from Utsjoki, explained to the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti that some people (mainly local Finns) take advantage of this phenomenon to go fishing during the nights. Tourists are also interested in this natural spectacle and "ask for spectacular spots and hiking trails" to go during the nightless nights.
Utsjoki has also other attractions: this is the municipality in Finland with the largest portion of people who speak Sami (the indigenous language of Lapland), more than 40% of its population.
