PERRA-VAARA Perävaara and KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka · 363 km from Tornio

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. PERRA-VAARA Perävaara

   Perävaara is a modest hill in the Swedish Tornedalen, a little north of Haparanda, and it is one of the points of the Struve Geodetic Arc. Between 1816 and 1855, the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and his teams measured a chain of triangles stretching from Hammerfest on the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea, over two and a half thousand kilometres, to determine the exact size and shape of the Earth. The survey points were marked on hilltops, church towers and rocks, and the surviving ones in ten countries were listed by UNESCO in 2005. At Perävaara, the station is a small marker on the summit, with a sign explaining its place in the chain. Struve's neighbours on the arc nearby include Jupukka and Pullinki, both a short ride away.

   Read the complete PERRA-VAARA Perävaara write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   PERRA-VAARA Perävaara is where the day begins. Next is PULLINKI Pullinki.

2. 2. PULLINKI Pullinki

   Just north of the Arctic Circle, in the valley of the Torne river that forms the border between Finland and Sweden, stand some of the stations of the Struve Geodetic Arc. Between 1816 and 1855, the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve and his teams measured a chain of triangles from the Arctic coast of Norway to the Black Sea, more than two thousand eight hundred kilometres, to determine the exact shape of the Earth. The arc is now a World Heritage Site spread over ten countries, and the points in the Torne valley, with names like Pullinki, Perävaara and Jupukka, are marked by drill holes and cairns on the hilltops.

   Read the complete PULLINKI Pullinki write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   PULLINKI Pullinki comes up about 93 km into the recorded legs. Next is KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka.

3. 3. KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka

   Somewhere on a rocky hilltop above the Torne river, a small mark in the stone once helped answer a very old question: how big, and what shape, is the Earth? Kerrojupukka is one of the points of the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of triangulation stations that stretches roughly 2,800 kilometres from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea. Between 1816 and 1855, the Baltic German astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and his teams measured it, hilltop by hilltop, working with tripods, signal towers and an extraordinary patience, and the result was one of the most accurate measurements of the Earth's size and flattening made up to that time. Thirty-four of the surviving points, spread across ten countries, were listed as a World Heritage site in 2005. Sweden's share lies up here in the Torne valley.

   Read the complete KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 181 km into the recorded legs you reach KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka. Next is back through PULLINKI Pullinki.

4. 4. back through PULLINKI Pullinki

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete PULLINKI Pullinki write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through PULLINKI Pullinki, late in the day. Next is PERRA-VAARA Perävaara.

5. 5. PERRA-VAARA Perävaara

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete PERRA-VAARA Perävaara write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at PERRA-VAARA Perävaara. That is the ride.