national park
Pyhä-Luosto National Park
Lapland national park of ancient quartzite fells split by a road link, with gorges, ski resorts and marked trailhead parking.
52 km · about 60 min drive
EuropeFinlandLapland
Sodankylä
Lapland, Finland · Europe
About Sodankylä
Sodankylä sits on the route: 55 minutes from Pyhäjärvi, 52km from Pyhä-Luosto National Park.
Sodankylä is in Lapland, Finland, with about 8,100 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Pyhäjärvi, about 47 km away.
Sodankylä (Finnish: [ˈsodɑŋˌkylæ]; Northern Sami: Soađegilli [ˈso̯ɑðeˌkilːiː]; Inari Sami: Suáđigil; Skolt Sami: Suäʹđjel) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 (E63) and along Highway 4 (E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center ofRead more
Sodankylä. Its neighbouring municipalities are Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski. The municipality has two official languages: Finnish and Northern Sami.
The municipality has a population of 8,095, (31 December 2025) which makes it the fourth largest municipality in Lapland after Rovaniemi, Tornio and Kemi, and at the same time the largest municipality in population that does not use the title of city or town. It covers an area of 12,415.50 square kilometres (4,793.65 sq mi) of which 718.65 km2 (277.47 sq mi) is water, making it the second largest municipality in Finland in terms of area, right after its neighboring municipality of Inari. The population density is 0.69 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.8/sq mi).
Sodankylä has an airfield. Also, one of EISCAT's scientific radar receiver stations is located outside Sodankylä, at the site of the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. The urban area around the observatory is known as "Tähtelä", which translates as "Place of Stars", although the observatory does not observe stars. The Jaeger Brigade of the Finnish Army is also located in Sodankylä. There is also much mining in Sodankylä, as the Pahtavaara mine (Pahtavaaran kaivos), which was opened in 1996 and focused on gold, and the Kevitsa mine (Kevitsan kaivos), which started commercial nickel mining production in 2012, operates in the municipality's territory. Although the name "Sodankylä" and (also "Soađegilli") directly translate to "Village of War", the etymology of the name is from a surname Sova rather than the word "war".
Since 1986, Sodankylä has been home to the Midnight Sun Film Festival (Sodankylän elokuvajuhlat).
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Sodankylä?
Within an hour or so of Sodankylä: Pyhä-Luosto National Park (52 km).
Where is Sodankylä?
Sodankylä is in Lapland, Finland, about 47 km from Pyhäjärvi.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 8,067
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Finland
- Region
- Lapland
- Timezone
- Europe/Helsinki
- Coordinates
- 67.4167, 26.6000
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Finland
Winter tyres mandatory December–February.
Full driving guide for FinlandTags
Worth the detour from Sodankylä
1 notable place within an hour's drive.
When to drive here
May to September
Far northern latitude: short daylight hours outside summer make long drives harder.
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