The PAN Parks wilderness area in Oulanka is a unique example of a meandering river ecosystem surrounded by untouched boreal forest near the Arctic Circle. It is the first certified piece of PAN Parks Wilderness in Finland with the ambition to protect fragments of unlogged boreal forest from intensive reindeer herding.
The first inhabitants in the area were Lapps who lived here until the end of the 17th century, which was when they had to give way to Finnish settlers. After hunting, fishing and later farming was primary occupation, today tourism the most notable human activity in Oulanka. However, this is not a new and recent phenomenon: it was already in the 1930s that the Finnish Tourist Association kept boats on the river and renovated cabins for accommodation purposes The park was founded in 1956 and expanded twice (in 1982 and 1989).
