Why this ride
It goes by way of TORNEA Alatornion kirkko, AVASAKSA Aavasaksa, PULLINKI Pullinki and back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa. It crosses from Sweden into Finland - carry ID and check the toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara and PULLINKI Pullinki
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 323 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 24
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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 TORNEA Alatornion kirkko.
2. TORNEA Alatornion kirkko
Two countries share this river valley, and two currencies, and, curiously, two clocks, since Finland is an hour ahead of Sweden. Tornio on the Finnish side and Haparanda on the Swedish are twin towns divided by the Torne river, and the line between them is a short bridge. The big grey church of Alatornio stands on the Finnish bank a few kilometres upstream, a stone building from the late eighteenth century, in a region where wooden churches are far more common. The Torne itself flows free of dams, one of the great wild rivers of Europe, and every spring its ice breaks up in a spectacular rush.
Read the complete TORNEA Alatornion kirkko write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
TORNEA Alatornion kirkko comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is AVASAKSA Aavasaksa.
3. AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
Aavasaksa is a wooded hill rising above the Torne river on the Finnish side of the border with Sweden, near the town of Ylitornio, just south of the Arctic Circle. It is a modest height, around 240 metres, but it has a remarkable history. In 1736 and 1737, a French expedition led by Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis came to the Torne valley to measure the length of a degree of latitude near the pole, and their observations helped prove that the earth is flattened at the poles, as Newton had predicted. Over a century later, Aavasaksa became one of the points of the Struve Geodetic Arc, the chain of survey stations running from Norway to the Black Sea, inscribed by UNESCO in 2005.
Read the complete AVASAKSA Aavasaksa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 116 km into the recorded legs you reach AVASAKSA Aavasaksa. Next is PULLINKI Pullinki.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa.
5. back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete AVASAKSA Aavasaksa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa sits at 211 km, about halfway. Next is back through TORNEA Alatornion kirkko.
6. back through TORNEA Alatornion kirkko
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete TORNEA Alatornion kirkko write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through TORNEA Alatornion kirkko comes up about 287 km into the recorded legs. Next is PERRA-VAARA Perävaara.
7. 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
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara closes the day.
Leg by leg
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara to TORNEA Alatornion kirkko
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara → TORNEA Alatornion kirkko is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
TORNEA Alatornion kirkko to AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
TORNEA Alatornion kirkko → AVASAKSA Aavasaksa is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
AVASAKSA Aavasaksa to PULLINKI Pullinki
AVASAKSA Aavasaksa → PULLINKI Pullinki is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
PULLINKI Pullinki to back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
PULLINKI Pullinki → back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa to back through TORNEA Alatornion kirkko
back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa → back through TORNEA Alatornion kirkko is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through TORNEA Alatornion kirkko to PERRA-VAARA Perävaara
back through TORNEA Alatornion kirkko → PERRA-VAARA Perävaara is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.