DRIVING FINLAND’S EPIC ROUTE 62 | IMATRA to PUUMALA 🇫🇮

Driving the first part of Finland’s incredible Route 62 (Kantatie 62) from Imatra, where I stopped to check out the mighty Imatra Rapids, to the quiet lakeside town of Puumala 70 kilometres away.
🇫🇮 See more of my travel vlogs from Finland here → http://bit.ly/mwt_finland

Imatra serves as the gateway to Finland’s Route 62 although the actual starting (or finishing) point is a few miles north. The town is dominated by the Imatrankoski Rapids and lies about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the Finnish/Russian border. I took a walk alongside the Vuoksi River and gazed upon the long deep gorge that transforms into a crashing river rapid when the Imatra Dam is opened.

On my visit I saw the Maiden of Imatra (Imatran Impi) - a small sculpture recognising the horrors of suicide. Close by is the dam and a viewing area called Näköalapaikka.

As the rain got harder and colder I decided to head back to the car and join Route 62 which began by tracing the coastline of Lake Saimaa. It wasn’t long before I made my first stop in the small village of Ruokolahti where my attention was grabbed by the wooden Ruokolahti Church and Belfry (Ruokolahden Kirkko & Ruokolahden Kellotapuli).

Further along Route 62 I found more remains of the Salpa Line just off a little trail road I had trunked onto, and an even narrower road that led to the isolated Kummakivi Balancing Stone. I later found out the fortifications were known as the Salpa Line Stone Defences at Syyspohja.

The route continued through the seemingly endless forest, past lake Saimaa once again and over the iconic Puumalan Salmi Bridge (Puumalansalmen Silta).

I checked into my accommodation in Puumala, the Hostelli Villa Saimaan Sydän which I had found at a very reasonable rate, later than expected. Nobody else seemed to be staying there so I had the whole house to myself. Whilst there I gave you a quick room and house tour as well as showed you around the deserted Puumala Bridge, church and town centre. It felt at times like I was the only person staying in town.

A memorable day on my Finnish Lakeland road trip and looking forward to driving the rest of Route 62 in the next vlog.

📖 CHAPTERS:
📖 00:00 Intro
📖 01:11 Imatrankoski Rapids
📖 03:04 Maiden of Imatra (Imatran Impi)
📖 04:06 Imatra Rapids Dam
📖 05:51 Driving Finland’s Route 62
📖 06:00 Ruokolahti, Finland
📖 06:55 Salpa Line Stone Defences at Syyspohja
📖 11:22 Kummakivi Balancing Stone & Bears
📖 13:52 Puumalan Salmi Bridge (Puumalansalmen Silta)
📖 15:04 Exploring Puumala, Finland
📖 16:04 Hostelli Villa Saimaan Sydän (Puumala, Finland)

More Info
⭐ Please consider SUBSCRIBING, it's free & really helps my channel grow → http://bit.ly/2RyPwto
❤️ Don’t Forget to LIKE & SHARE if you enjoyed the video, they really help!
🎙️ Feel free to ask any questions! All FEEDBACK and COMMENTS welcome!!
📷 Connect with me on INSTAGRAM → http://bit.ly/mwt_instagram

🇫🇮 See all my FINLAND videos → http://bit.ly/mwt_finland
🇫🇮 See more from my Finnish Lakeland road trip → https://bit.ly/mwt_finnishlakeland
📍 See ALL of my videos on a TRAVEL MAP → https://bit.ly/mwt_map
🌍 See ALL of my videos by COUNTRY → https://bit.ly/mwt-europe

Soundtrack
🎵 Calming Rain by Candelion
🎵 Lost In The Woods (Forevermore) by Zorro feat. Molife
🎵 Bad Friends by Mimmi Bangoura
🎵
🎵 Music by Epidemic Sound. Get a FREE month here → http://bit.ly/2LB53FZ