Welcome – enjoy your stay at the Kvarken Archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
Silence. Light. The wool-grey or sometimes crystalline glowing open sea. Stones that were here before us and will be here long after we're gone. The wind. Birds.
The Kvarken Archipelago is Finland's only nature site included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Together with the High Coast, it is a transboundary geological World Heritage Site. The Kvarken Archipelago and the High Coast are part of a worldwide community consisting of a total of 46 sea-related World Heritage Sites.
On our ruggedly beautiful shoals full of light, you can breathe easily. Let the sea breeze take your everyday worries with it out into the vast sea. Enjoy yourself, here and now. All year round.
Saltkaret observation tower and Bodvattnet Runt nature trail
40 km west of Vaasa
The impressive, tar-coloured Saltkaret observation tower rises to a height of over 20 metres in the Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage Site, at Svedjehamn fish harbour in the municipality of Mustasaari, to be more precise. The tower offers a beautiful view over the De Geer moraine. The unique moraine archipelago speaks of the enormous power of the last ice age in the Kvarken Archipelago.
The Bodvattnet runt nature trail also starts at Svedjehamn. Along the trail, visitors can see the land uplift coast and the De Geer moraine. The nature trail is some 3.5 km in length. Mustasaari/Björköby.
Meteoria Söderfjärden
12 km south of Vaasa
The Söderfjärden crater was created when a meteor crashed into the Earth some 520 million years ago. Nowadays, the area is a paradise for birds. Visitors can observe the abundant bird life from a seven-metre birdwatching tower. Söderfjärden is the most important crane staging site in Finland.
An exhibition at the Meteoria tells the fascinating history of the crater with an intense and colourful multimedia show, instructive light cabinets and a variety of tools. There is also a well-equipped observatory with a telescope you can use to study celestial bodies thousands of millions of light years from the Earth. Vaasa/Sundom.
More information: Visit Vaasa - Experience the Kvarken Archipelago