Province
of Oulu, Kainuu
Kuhmo
(www.kuhmo.fi)
Area 73 km², established as part of the Friendship Park in
1990
The area is managed by Metsähallitus.
In his book Kainuun
mailta (From the Lands of Kainuu), Samuli Paulaharju describes how a man once
climbed a wooded hill with a gun and a dog, a woman and a cauldron, and three
children. Perhaps that was also the order of importance that guaranteed
survival? All around them was a forest, intersected by mires, and in the midst
of the forest the cattle of the Metsola farm. This same atmosphere can still be
felt when wandering in Elimyssalo.
The Elimyssalo Nature Reserve represents the best of forest nature that
Kainuu has to offer. Located near Finland’s eastern border, the reserve forms a
central part of the Friendship Park. It is a tapestry of different types of
mires, old spruce forests draped with beard lichens, lush stream banks, and
small lakes and ponds.
