Korvalan Kestikievari
Restaurant:

THIS IS A GREAT PLACE FOR TRADITIONAL FOOD

For over a century Korvala has given food and shelter to those needing it, so has been an anticipated destination for the intrepid travellers of the north since the earliest days of Arctic exploration. It has been in the same family all this time and is the oldest travel business in Lapland.

Established in 1889, it functioned first as a roadside inn, then a kestikievari. The word "kestikievari" comes from the Swedish word "gästgiveri" meaning "guest-giver".

Korvala's women looked after the kitchens and ensured that the food was served to the highest standards. They were know locally for their radient beauty and were called "Korvalan komiat", a nickname used from the early 1900s onwards, meaning "Korvala's beautiful ones" in the local dialect. The word komea can also be used to describe an impressive building or place, and that it certainly is too. Here, you can travel back in time and imagine how the locals lived a hundred years ago!