A forgotten boat becomes Kilpisjärvi’s viral photo stop

A weathered wooden boat on the shore of Tsahkaljärvi lake has become a popular photo stop for visitors to Kilpisjärvi, with some tourists posing in front of the Saana fell. Yle tracked down its owner, reindeer herder Juha Tornensis.

The boat was built in 1990 by Tornensis’s late cousin. It once carried provisions across the lake to a reindeer calf-marking site, where calves born in spring were marked with their owners’ ear tags. The journey saved Tornensis’s family a long trip around a rocky stretch of shore.

After the boat was no longer needed, it was left by the lake. Tornensis says it drifted along the shore before he pulled it higher up, where it has remained for at least 15 to 20 years. It cost 900 Finnish marks, he says, and served the family well.

Interest in the deteriorating boat has surged in recent years as photos spread on social media. Metsähallitus says the location is easy to reach and the images have captured people’s imagination.

Visitors have damaged vegetation in the ancient monument area around the boat. Metsähallitus says a ban on visits could be imposed if the area’s natural values are put at risk. It has asked visitors to respect both the surroundings and the boat.

Tornensis expects the boat to rot away over the next couple of decades and says he is not worried about its fate. He has not benefited from its popularity and says he does not intend to remove it.