Cloudberries, Blueberries and Lingonberries Abound

Enontekio's pure Arctic air produces an abundance of wild berries — cloudberries, blueberries, crowberries and lingonberries ripe for picking from late summer.

Thanks to the pure and Arctic air, the natural produce found in Enontekio — wild berries, mushrooms, herbs, fish, reindeer and game birds — are all pure and aromatic. During late summer the area's berries and mushrooms are ripe for picking.

Blueberries ripen towards the end of July
Crowberries follow, then lingonberries in the second half of August
Cranberries arrive at the end of September
Grouseberries paint the fells red in late August
Berries and mushrooms ripe for picking throughout late summer

The Arctic berry calendar

Blueberries (mustikka: Vaccinium myrtillus) ripen towards the end of July. Black crowberries (variksenmarja: Empetrum nigrum) come next, then lingonberries (puolukka: Vaccinium vitis-idaea) in the second half of August. The last to arrive are cranberries (karpalo: Vaccinium oxycoccos) at the end of September, which astute berry hunters may still find in late fall.

High on the hills, grouseberries (riekonmarja: Arctostaphylos alpina) can be found at the end of August — this is the plant that paints the fells red with the Autumn colours. The berries are dark, like crowberries, and lie close to the ground. Bog whortleberries (juolukka: Vaccinium uliginosum) can also be found around this time; these, as well as cranberries, are likely to gain in socio-economic importance throughout Europe in the coming years.

The economics of berry picking

Picking berries is such an important pursuit that Finland has been forced to address the working rights of international pickers: a court ruled that the pickers do not have an employment relationship because they are independent entrepreneurs.