Kurkijärvi is a lake over 20 km long, at its deepest point approx. 21 m and over 300 m above sea level. The area is divided into two villages: the east end’s Maanselkä and the west end’s Kuolio.
The Kuolivaara-Kynsilä highway was built in the 1950s and the road to Kurkijärvi in the 1960s.
The Kurkijärvi region is rich in water resources, and with rugged nature, since Maanselkä overshadows the Kurkijärvi region, and the snow starts melting later in the region than in the rest of Kuusamo.
There are many bodies of water, impressive marshes, and rugged nature.
Raatelampi, at the western end of Lake Kurkijärvi, was for a long time the object of nature photographer Hannu Hautala’s photography trips. The photos of Hautala show swans, owls, and eagles of Raatelampi.
Maamiesseura’s hiking tips: Jokiniska regulating dam (nicknamed Kekkonen), Hevonvitunkoski (fall height 30m, wading pool, remains of a mill), Kovajoki sawmill (remains of a saw, mill and shingle machine), Siltinki nature reserve, Kurkijärvi village hall and a fitness track.
