Dispatches from Finland’s Lake Saimaa
I lay on the forest floor, staring at the early night’s sky through a gap in tall, thin pine trees. Beneath, I could feel the undulations of tree roots among the soft pockets of grass and reeds, the forest’s arteries pulsating in a rhythmic, soothing manner. I relaxed my head into nature’s pillow and thought of nothing and everything, simultaneously present and distant. I longed for the silence to endure, for the meditation to continue indefinitely, to stay in this moment.
I had arrived twenty-four hours earlier in Finland’s Lakeland region, where mystical forestland and thousands of islands flank vast bodies of water, unsure about well-being practices such as forest meditation. Though I understood the healing role of nature, as a hardened city-dweller with distinctly British sensibilities, I’d underestimated its power. I had also never been much of a sauna guy, and for Finns, saunas are something of a religion. In due course, I would swim at night in near-freezing temperatures, sit happily in 75-degree heat while flagellating myself with eucalyptus leaves, and leave espousing the Finnish way of life.
The region’s Lake Saimaa, home to the endangered ringed seal, is Europe’s fourth-largest freshwater lake. The water is so pure in some areas, local legend has it, that you can drink from it. A summer retreat or a winter paradise, Lake Saimaa has all bases covered for reconnecting with nature, an integral outlet for Finns dating back centuries when doctors prescribed time among the protected woodland for illnesses.
Our first stop was Halla Resort, about a three-hour drive from Helsinki airport in southeastern Finland. Immersed in its landscape so as not to detract from it, our wooden, Scandinavian-designed lakeside villa was breathtaking, offering calming views throughout its glass vista of the water mere metres away. Used for secluded getaways (and, apparently, business meetings), each villa has its own sauna, which guests can frequent armed with a so-called sauna beverage (we opted for a can of pale ale from a nearby brewery). The pontoon snaked its way to the water, gently suggesting guests take a dip, an elusive temptation — for now.
Rising early to absorb the views, we headed for the town of Savonlinna. We met Captain Janne Leinonen, who recently restored the luxury steamship Paul Wahl, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship over 100 years old. Private cruises, which run throughout the summer, were still available in November (by January, temperatures plummet well below zero). A short journey away was the world’s northernmost medieval castle, Olavinlinna, charting Finland’s occupation by Russia and Sweden, playing host to the opera during warmer months.
Peckish, we dipped into nearby Hotel Saima, run by Finnish-British couple Johanna and David Taylor, for a bowl of salmon soup heady with dill, padded out with cubed potatoes and enriched with cream. The listed building blends the old with the new, preserving its wooden beams in some of its six unique bedrooms while incorporating beautiful features such as converted sewing machines, now serving as dressing tables.
Onwards to Hotel Punkaharju, the oldest hotel in Finland. Restored by former model Saimi Hoyer, the building is embedded among the pine trees of the Punkaharju ridge, standing proudly over Lake Saimaa. No two bedrooms are the same, yet its refurbishment has stayed true to its steeped history (the hotel dates back to the 1840s and, we’re told by staff, has the ghosts to prove it).
As daylight faded, we ventured out for Forest Meditation, each choosing a tree upon which to stretch and — for those who wanted to — hug before taking to the forest floor. After nearly an hour in the cool night air, we headed for Yoga Sauna, leaving more supple (flabby) than we had entered the 50-degree heat.
The following morning we drove to Järvisydän, a resort full of nature-based pursuits that change with the seasons and an impressive, sprawling spa. Fat bike riding through the wild woodland terrain left us with a false sense of cycling competence brought about by the battery-powered booster system. A peruse of the two-floored spa, fit with saunas, salt rooms and pools, led me to my first cold water excursion, dipping into the outdoor lake pool as day transitioned to night. But if no one’s around to hear your screams, and there’s no social media evidence of your exploits, did you really cold water swim?
A sound bathing session followed a delicious lunch of foraged mushroom risotto with salted cranberries and spruce needles at the impressive Kuru resort, an adults-only retreat with stunning, compact villas that lean over the hill’s edge, camouflaged by green roofs. Sound bathing — one of several available treatments — is a must; an hour of sheer bliss, stimulated by gongs and other sounds that transport you from your head to somewhere better.
After our final dinner at Tertti Manor, a secluded retreat ideal for couples, we made it to Kyyhkylä Wellbeing Resort & Spa for one final sauna. I approached the nearby lake while cooling down from the 75-degree heat, allowing my body to sink into the water. This time, witnesses heard my screams.
The creeping impact of climate change is never too far away in the Lakelands. Locals say the winter ice is no longer as deep, the summer heat more pronounced. I left Lake Saimaa —itself a product of the Ice Age — feeling humanity would do well to show a bit of Finnish reverence for nature.
So do make sure you visit this unique, hidden gem. But treat it kindly, as it deserves.
This is an edited version of an article I wrote for About Time Magazine. Pictures by Sebastian Whaleand Mel Maughan. Original article here.
