Hetta

Not to be confused with Hatta in Dubai or Hattah in The Murray, Australia..

Hetta (Sami: Heahttá) is the main village of the municipality Enontekiö in Northern Finland.

Understand

Hetta in autumn

Get in

• 1 Enontekiö airport (6 km west of Hetta). Numerous charter flights land throughout the winter. There are no regular scheduled air services. (updated Apr 2023)

Kittilä airport has flights around the year and is 150 km away. See Enontekiö for other options.

Hetta is 25 km off E8, so mostly you have to turn or transfer at Palojoensuu, west of Hetta (there are daily coaches, but check waiting time). E45 from Sweden follows E8 from Karesuando to Palojoensuu, forks off to Hetta and continues to the north along road 93 to Kautokeino via the border crossing Kivilompolo, passes a junction for Karasjok and reaches E6 and Alta. A road from Kittilä comes to Hetta from the east.

The Eurovelo cycling route nr 7 from Nordkapp to Malta ("Sun Route", 7,409 km) comes down trough Finnmarksvidda, passes Hetta and continues down through Sweden. The coaches usually take bikes, so you can choose what legs to go on your own.

Get around

The village is spread out along the roads, so just roaming about is not a time efficient way to find places. Not too long distances, though.

See

The church

• 1 Fell Lapland Nature Centre, Peuratie 15, ☏ +358 20-639-7950, tunturi-lappi@metsa.fi. M–F 09:00–16, in season daily 09:00–17:00. Hiking information, permits, reservations and keys for wilderness huts. Temporary and changing exhibitions about the nature and the people, also for children. Films, mostly on related themes (10–60 min), are shown on request. Library with books about the nature, history and culture of Northern Lapland, especially those of Yrjö Kokko, and a collection of photos of local people from the 1940s and 1950s by the photographer Marja Vuorelainen. Nature trails (see Do below). The indoor facilities are accessible with wheelchair. Free. 
• Cinema (in the nature centre auditorium). a few times a week, both matinées and evening shows. As of December 2018 mostly Finnish children's films (some with English subtitles), some really worth seeing; also live recordings of opera and ballet (seems to be an experiment). €6–20. 

Do

• Jyppyrä hill (from the nature centre), ☏ +358 20-639-7950. 24 hr daily. A 1.6 km circle trail leads to the Jyppyrä hill with magnificent views. There is a campfire shelter at the top, with pins for grilling sausages, firewood shed and outhouse. Coffee pot and water can be had from the nature centre. Warm clothes, matches, picnic food, toilet paper, map and compass recommended. Pack out any trash. In winter the trail is suitable for snowshoes. Mind the weather, which can deteriorate, possibly with fog. Free. 
• Peuranpolku nature trail (from the nature centre). Nature trail (2 km) describing historic hunt of wild reindeer. Free. 
• There are cross country skiing tracks around Hetta, some of them in the national park. The 10-km illuminated track by the village is usually opened in November, the last tracks usually in February. Skiing conditions are usually good until the beginning of May.
• There are several hiking trails. Some are suitable for a day trip, others for overnight hikes. The trail to Pöyrisjärvi in Pöyrisjärvi Wilderness Area (45 km) starts at the nature centre, the one to Pallastunturit in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park (55 km) on the opposite shore of the lake.
• Hetta Ski Resort (Hiihtomaa), Hetta Hiihtomaa Peuratie 23, ☏ +358 40-586-4428. 10am-6pm. Located on the slopes of a small hill near the centre of the village, Hetta's ski resort has several gentle pistes (no drop greater than 100 m) suitable for skiing and snowboarding serviced by drag-type ski lifts. There is also an illuminated cross-country ski track which starts here and can be used free of charge. Equipment hire and lessons available from the portacabins at the bottom of the main slopes. Due to the low number of customers and gentle slopes this is a perfect place to try skiing or snowboarding for the first time. 
• Hetta Huskies, Hetantie 211 (Drive out of Hetta on the road south to Palojoensuu and the Swedish border. The farm is c. 2 km before the turn to Norway.), ☏ +358 16 641-590. Hetta Huskies is Enontekiö's only husky farm. Run by a British woman and the first Finn to reach the South Pole unsupported, it offers everything from farm visits and short taster rides to day-safaris and multi-day wilderness journeys. The farm is constantly praised as one of the best run and dog-friendly in Finnish Lapland but its prices are surprisingly competitive. Sledding is only available in snowy months but farm tours and other products with dog interaction are available year round. See website for details and prices. 

Events

People on St Mary's Day

• St Mary's Day Celebrations (Heahttá Márjjábeaivvit). Late March. Dance, music, lassoing competitions, reindeer races, etc. Handicrafts for sale. One of the opportunities to see actual contemporary Sámi culture. (updated Jul 2017)
• Hetta Music Days (Hetan Musiikkipäivät). The northernmost classical music festival in the European Union. Held in early April for a week, it has been running since 1949. Tickets from €22, festival pass from €85. (updated Apr 2023)
• Traditional Christmas market, held in Hetta in late November.

Buy

The nature centre has some souvenirs. If you want local handicraft, check in advance where to find it, as artists might work from home without advertising much locally.

• 1 Erämaakota, Ounastie 60, ☏ +358 16 521-052, eramaakota@outlook.com. Souvenirs. (updated Sep 2019)
• 2 Hetta Silver, Ruijantie 15, ☏ +358 40-762-2063, hettasilver@gmail.com. Souvenirs, local handicrafts. (updated Sep 2019)
• 3 Sportbutikk (Sport-Hetta Oy), Ruijantie 15 (in Hetta centre, by the road towards Kautokeino), ☏ +358 400-184-185. Sports and leisure clothing and shoes, ski waxes and goggles, snowmobile accessories and parts, fishing supplies and fireworks before New Years Eve. Also a small hardware store. 
• 4 K-Market J Ad Rantakokko, Kustaavantie 1, ☏ +358 16 530-1100. M–Sa 08:30-20:00, Su 11:00–18:00. Grocery store and Alko. Also hardware. (updated Sep 2019)

Eat

• Hotel Hetan Majatalo (Hetan Majatalo Oy), Riekontie 8, 99401 Enontekiö, ☏ +358 16 554-0400. Traditional and excellent Lappish and Finnish food from buffet in an idyllic dining room is served during high-seasons and on request. 

Sleep

• 1 Ounasloma Luxury Cabins, Ounasloma Oy Ounastie 1 (just off the main road, 1.5 km from the centre), ☏ +358 16 521-055. Cabin village between the lake and a small river. All mod cons and underfloor heating to keep it nice and toasty when it's -35°C outside! Run by a nice man called Alpo who is also a great source of advice for local activities. Rented primarily by the week in season (spring: weeks 10–17), otherwise dates are flexible. Two cabins are farther away (2.5 and 24 km from Hetta), without electricity. Boats, bikes and sledges available (free for guests). Fishing equipment, maps, motorboat, fatbike and winter clothing for rent. Snowmobile safaris, From €50–190/one night; linen €7/person. 
• 2 Hotel Hetan Majatalo (Hotelli Hetan Majatalo), Riekontie 8, 99401 Enontekiö (right in the centre of the village of Hetta), ☏ +358 16 554-0400. Lapland's oldest family company in tourism, Hetan Majatalo was founded 1924 and is now into its fourth generation. Old-time, traditional inn and a modern hotel with 27 spacious room for 2–6 persons. As a speciality hotel rooms have a loft with a skylight window and sufficient space. Lobby with fire place and piano. Wi-Fi and public computer, small library, playgrounds in- and outdoors, souvenir corner, fitness room, waxing room for skis, small kitchen, laundry. Lappish and Finnish food. Sauna. 
• 3 Holiday Village Hetan Kota (Lomakylä Hetan Kota), Ounastie 583 (4 km east of the village centre, at the end of the lake), ☏ +358 400-183-020. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. from €50/night. 

Connect

Postal code: 99400 Enontekiö

Go next

• Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park: The third largest (1,020 km²) and most visited national park in Finland starts with Ounastunturi just across the lake. The 55-km hiking trail to the central areas of the park (Pallastunturi, with services and communications) is old, nice and quite easy.
• Pöyrisjärvi Wilderness Area by the lake that gave it its name, by the Norwegian border. It has varying nature and two traditional Sami summer villages, still inhabited part of the year. There are rivers suitable for fishing and canoeing. A trail to Pöyrisjärvi starts in Hetta.
• Stuorrahanoaivi trek, a hike through the Tarvantovaara Wilderness Area, visiting the peak of Stuorrahanoaivi, one of the points on the Struve Geodetic Arc.
• Kilpisjärvi, another village in Enontekiö.

Routes through Hetta

Alta ← Pöyrisjärvi Wilderness Area ←

N  S

→ Junction → Karesuvanto → Gällivare