Hankamäki – Village Character and Stone Age Traces

Hankamäki is a preserved small village laid out along Kuopiontie road. At the same time, the named settlement sites at Pankalampi point to a long history of settlement. The village character and Stone Age traces give a trip here two distinct points of reference: the place and its prehistory. When choosing a holiday apartment, you can first consider whether this connection appeals to you, or whether other destinations in the municipality of Rautavaara should shape your stay.

History at Pankalampi

Pankalampi 1 is a protected settlement site from an unspecified period of the Stone Age. Pankalampi 3 is also a protected settlement site and dates to the Neolithic. The period of Pankalampi 1 therefore remains unspecified within the Stone Age, whereas a specific period is named for Pankalampi 3. This distinction makes Hankamäki’s archaeological connections tangible without dating the two sites to the same period.

The location of Pankalampi 2 is also described in relation to prominent landmarks: the site lies west of the Luostanjoki River, on a level area at the western end of the high ridge at Pankalampi. The river, flat ground and ridge give the site description a distinct spatial dimension. Together with the two settlement sites dated to different periods, they provide a concrete picture of how Hankamäki’s prehistory can be placed in the landscape and associated with local names.

Other perspectives in the municipality of Rautavaara

Those wishing to look beyond Hankamäki to the municipality of Rautavaara will find other landscape-related and active pursuits. Tiilikkajärvi National Park lies north of Highway 87 and mostly within the municipality of Rautavaara. In the southern part of the Älänne area, Road 582 runs from Rautavaara to Varpaisjärvi and provides access to all the Älänne car parks. If you use this access information to plan your trip, check the road conditions before setting out.

Trails and viewpoints offer another way to explore the municipality: Kiparin kierros is an approximately 2.2-kilometre circular trail in Rautavaara. You can enjoy the view from the Kiparinvuori observation tower. The trail has a specifically stated length and form, while the tower focuses on the view from a named vantage point. These differences can help you organise your trip around whether you are more interested in a circular route, a viewpoint or the wider landscape.

Getting here and choosing a base

A 2023 timetable showed a connection from Kuopio bus station via Hankamäki to Rautavaara: departure from Kuopio at 16:20, arrival in Hankamäki at 17:45 and in Rautavaara at 18:05. In the opposite direction, the service left Rautavaara at 14:50, passed through Hankamäki at 15:10 and arrived at Kuopio bus station at 16:50. If you are planning to travel by bus, check the current timetables before arranging your trip around them.

This suggests a simple question when choosing a holiday apartment: should Hankamäki’s small-village character and the prehistory at Pankalampi be the focus, or would you also like to include the trails and landscape connections of the municipality of Rautavaara? If you are planning with others, you can weigh up these different interests in advance and choose the location of your accommodation accordingly.

Discover more destinations: Keitele, Möttönen, Vieremä, Kasnäs, Kärkölä, Kiviperä, Hailuoto, Siikalatva.

Back to the broader travel overview: North Ostrobothnia.