VerkkokauppaHelvetinjärvi National Park
The Helvetinjärvi area is one of Western Finland’s most rugged wilderness and forest areas. Helvetinjärvi National Park, established in 1982, coves an area of approximately 22 km², with water making up 1.5 km² of this. The area contains numerous signposted trails, cooking area and camping sites, and it is linked via the Pirkan Taival travellers’ routes to the Seitseminen National Park.
Helvetinkolu, located at the south-eastern end of the lake, is a crack in the rock measuring 38 m in depth and 40 m in length with a width of 2–2.5 m. It was earlier used as a wolf trap and subsequently as a place for young people from Ruovesi to escape to on prayer days when dancing was forbidden. Activities also included jumping over the gorge from one edge to the other - which is not allowed nowadays. Helvetinkolu is today one of the most popular attractions in the national park: it has a site for lighting fires and a rest hut built by the Visuvesi youth club in the 1920s. Visitors to the national park can pay a visit to the sandy shores of Lake Haukkajärvi.
Ruovesi tourist information open daily in summer 11am–6pm. Tel: +358 44 787 1388. Email: matkailu(at)ruovesi.fi (service in Finnish and English).
