Inari is Finland‘s largest municipality (but one of the most sparsely populated), with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major sources of income are tourism, service industry and cold climate testing. With the Siida museum in the village of Inari, it is a center of Sami culture, widely known as the “capital of Sámi culture.

The airport in Ivalo and the country’s key north-south European Route E75 (Finland’s National Road 4) bring summer and winter vacationers seeking resorts with access to a well-preserved, uncrowded natural environment.

History

The municipality was established in 1876. It was claimed from about 1942 to 1945 by the Quisling regime during the Nazi occupation of Norway.

Sites of interest

• Hammastunturi Wilderness Area
• Ivalo River
• Lemmenjoki National Park
• Siida, Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre
• Otsamo fell
• Urho Kekkonen National Park