Discover a sense of wellness from nature: foraging in Lapland
Many wild berries grow in Sompio. They are true superfoods, bursting with vitamins: blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries and cloudberries. When you go for a hike, take a basket or bag with you, for you never know what delicacies you might find. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to top off a pancake or morning porridge with berries that you’ve picked yourself?
The midnight sun makes Lapland’s wild herbs grow stronger and more potent than in the south. In Sompio you can find many edible plants such as nettles, fireweed, Lady’s Mantle and yarrow.
According to Everyman’s Rights anyone can pick berries, mushrooms and wild plants that are not protected by law, without any special permission. You might also come across chaga in Sompio’s forests, famous for its health benefits and usually brewed as a tea-like drink. However, you do need special permission from the landowner to remove chaga. Only gather plants and mushrooms, that you are certain that you recognise and that you know you are allowed to pick.
Sompio’s Strict Nature Reserve is a separate nature conservation zone, which was created to protect an extremely valuable area of arctic nature. If you want to pick wild herbs, you must do this outside of the Sompio Strict Nature Reserve and Urho Kekkonen national park. Picking berries and mushrooms is allowed in the national park but prohibited in the strict nature reserve. However, you don’t even have to go far from Tankavaara to find great forests for foraging!