The bedrock is granite and gneiss, which do not dissolve in water like limestone. So Finland's caves are boulder caves, fissure caves and rare limestone caves, the largest 31 metres long. They are small, but each has a reason to exist – and often a story about who hid in it.

The list picks caves you can enter without ropes. Always bring a headlamp, a helmet or cap and grippy shoes; caves are +4 °C and wet even in July. Bat hibernation sites are off limits from October to April.

  1. Torholan luola

    Lohja

    On the shore of Lake Lohjanjärvi is Finland's largest limestone cave: 31 metres long, 36 wide, with small dripstones on the ceiling. From the bright entrance hall you descend into the "cellar", and at the back is a tunnel where your hands reach both walls.

    Place page and directions →

  2. Wolf Cave

    Kristiinankaupunki

    At Karijoki near Kristinestad, stone tools proposed to be over 120,000 years old were found in Susiluola, the Wolf Cave. If the interpretation holds, they are traces of Neanderthals and the oldest sign of humans in the Nordic countries – the cave itself is a weathering cavity older than the ice age. Entry is closed, but the site is signposted.

    Place page and directions →

  3. Korkia-Mauran jääluola

    Inari

    On an island in Lake Inari is a cave where the ice does not melt even in summer; it was used as a fish cellar as early as the 1600s and is the largest of its kind in Finland. It can only be reached by boat from Veskoniemi, and warming has thinned the ice in the 2000s.

    Place page and directions →

  4. Luolavuori Cave

    Turku

    Inside the city of Turku is a cave system whose longest passage is 45 metres – among the longest in Southwest Finland. The triangular entrance was mentioned in a newspaper as early as 1863, and the area has been a nature reserve since 2017.

    Place page and directions →

  5. Pirunpesä (Pori)

    Pori

    Pirunpesä at Lyttylä in Pori is the third-longest known cave in Finland, about 70 metres, formed when an erratic boulder broke apart. Its highest parts rise 10 metres above ground, and the cave has appeared on maps since the mid-1800s.

    Place page and directions →

  6. Rapalan luolat

    Kangasniemi

    The villagers of Rapala in Kangasniemi fled to these boulder caves during the Great Wrath. At the landowner's request the steps and signs were removed in 2013, so a visit is under everyman's rights and at your own risk – bring a headlamp and patience.

    Place page and directions →

  7. Jeremiahs caves

    Kustavi

    Beside Kivimaantie in Kustavi is a group of rocks named after the years of the Great Wrath: a man called Jeremias hid in its crevices. A 200-metre forest path leads to deep fissures and near-vertical cliffs.

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  8. Pirunvuori

    Sastamala

    On top of Pirunvuori in Sastamala stands a stone castle built in 1906 by the painter Emil Danielsson, and inside the hill are caves that gave the whole hill its name in folk tales. The castle opened to the public after restoration in 1976.

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  9. Branni's Cave

    Loviisa

    Brannin luola in Loviisa is among the best-known boulder caves in south-eastern Finland: a fissure driving deep into the rock, tall enough to stand in. An easy first cave – short path, no ropes, but you need a lamp.

    Place page and directions →

All on the map

The whole theme. This list is a selection. The theme page has every place by region, a map and background on the phenomenon.

Caves · 32 places →