Find us
How to arrive
With car
The easiest way to find here is with a car. The village Juoksengi is settled along Route 99, which stretches from Haparanda to Karesuando. If you travel from Finland you can cross the border to Sweden in Tornio, Ylitornio, Pello or Kolari.
With airplane via Stockholm to Luleå or via Helsinki to Kemi-Tornio, Rovaniemi or Oulu
The closest airports in Sweden are Luleå, Pajala, and Kiruna Airports, you can take a flight to Luleå and Kiruna via Stockholm. The closest airports in Finland are Kemi-Tornio, Rovaniemi and Kittilä and flight goes via Helsinki.
Distances from airports to Juoksengi
- Pajala (PJA) in Sweden 84 km / 52 miles
- Kemi-Tornio (KEM) in Finland 120 km / 75 miles
- Rovaniemi (RVN) in Finland 142 km / 88 miles
- Kittilä (KTT) in Finland 168 km / 104 miles
- Luleå in Sweden (LLA) 180 km / 112 miles
- Oulu in Finland (OUL ) 242 km / 150 miles
- Kiruna in Sweden (KRN) 263 km / 163 miles
It's easiest to go with rent car to Juoksengi, but there is also the ability to go with the bus if you have plenty of time and good travel plans.
Car rentals
Luleå, Sweden
Kemi, Finland
Rovaniemi, Finland
With bus
You can get to Juoksengi by bus via Tornio-Haparanda and Luleå. Check connections at Länstrafiken Norrbotten. If you come via Finland you can take the bus to Tornio-Haparanda Travel Center and change there to the Swedish bus. Finnish bus connections at Matkahuolto.fi. You will need a good plan and plenty of time if you use buses.
With train
Travel from Stockholm to Luleå by train and from there take the bus or car to Juoksengi. Check train connections at SJ and bus connections at Länstrafiken Norrbotten. In Finland, you can take a train to Rovaniemi or Kemi and there take the bus or rent a car. Finnish train connections at VR. Travel time from Stockholm to Luleå is 10 - 14 hours and from Helsinki to Kemi over 10 hours.
Plan together
Join our discussion group on Facebook and find other people who are planning a trip to Juoksengi.
Stay a little longer on the area and check out also other activities page.
Juoksengi village
The competition is settled at the Arctic Circle in the small village Juoksengi, which is located in Övertorneå in Tornevalley. The village has about 300 inhabitants. Thanks to the areas of collective history and culture, many of the villagers and the competition arrangers talk also Meänkieli and/or Finnish. This means that you will get by with Finnish absolutely fine. Most of our administrators also speak English and maybe some other languages too.
Juoksengi and Juoksenki
The village belonged to Sweden until the Treaty of Fredrikshamn 1809 when the border between Russia and Sweden was drawn along the Torne River. The border split the village and the village residents into two pieces and it became two villages in two different countries, Juoksengi and Juoksenki. Finland declared its independence from Russia on December 6, 1917. The cultural affinities are still alive today and the villages collaborate over the border. The village associations arrange different activities and during wintertime, they maintain the ice road over the Torne River. The ice road shortens the distance between the villages by 60 kilometers.
We do it twice
New years are celebrated on the frozen Torne River. It is a double new years celebration at the border, because of the time difference between Sweden and Finland. Visitors are partly from the village but also from Finland, France, UK, and Norway.