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Situated about 230km north of Sodankyla, INARI lies along the fringes of Inarijarvi, one of Finland's largest lakes, and makes a rather attractive point from which to base further exploration of this part of Lapland. The bus stops off outside the helpful tourist office in Inari House (June-Sept Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat & Sun 10am-3pm; Oct-May Mon-Fri 10am-4pm; tel 016/661666), which provides maps and fishing licences and can point you in the right direction for guided snow scooter trips in winter and fishing trips around the lake in summer. Close by is the recently renovated "Siida", the Sami Museum (June-Sept daily 9am-8pm; Oct-May Tue-Sun 10am-5pm; ?5), which is one of the best museums in Lapland. An excellent outdoor section gives you an idea of how the Sami survived in Arctic conditions in their tepees, or kota , while the indoor section has a well-laid-out and easy-to-understand exhibition on all aspects of life in the arctic. Towards the northern end of the village, pleasure cruises depart from under the bridge in summer (about ?8.50-17). Most of these trips will take you out to an ancient Sami holy site on an island in the middle of Inarijarvi at Ukkonkivi , named after Ukko, the Sami equivalent of the Norse god of thunder, Thor; a plaque marks an ancient site of worship rumoured to have been a place of sacrifice. The views over the lake are stunning. If walking's your thing then check out the pretty Pielpajarvi Wilderness Church , normally a one- to two-hour well-signposted hike from the village. There was a church on this site as far back as 1646, and the present one dates from 1754; services are still held during mid-summer and for special occasions such as weddings. Accommodation should not be too problematic, though Inari does get very busy during the summer months. A basic hotel is the Inarin Kultahovi (tel 016/671221; GBP30-35/$48-56/?54-63), which also has a decent affordable restaurant . About 2km south of the village is the highly recommended Uruniemi campsite (tel 016/671331; open all year Oct-April, advanced booking obligatory), set in a lovely location right by the lake.
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