Putaanköngäs

The Putaanköngäs fall – also known as Purkuputaanköngäs – is a ten-metre-high waterfall in the Oulanka National Park in Kuusamo. The waterfall is located in the Putaanoja River, about half a kilometre before it flows into the Oulankajoki River.

In the fall, the water flows through a crack in a rocky cliff, down into a pond, first like it is going through a chute, then vertically. The water flows into the crack and then spits out of it with high pressure above the pond. The fall is knowingly the only so called punchbowl waterfall in Finland, making it geologically rare.

There is no hiking trail leading up to the fall. You can get there by walking about three kilometres south from the nearby Liikasenvaarantie road, along the side of the river. You can get a bit closer to the fall by car if you drive along a nearby forest road (which is in poor condition) on the east side of the river and then continue on foot to the Putaanoja River. All in all you should prepare for the trip to take several hours due to, for instance, difficult terrain in the forest.

As an attraction the Putaanköngäs fall is not very well known. This is peculiar in my opinion, because the fall is one of the steepest in the area – much steeper than, for example, the famous Kiutaköngäs nearby. There isn’t even official information about the drop height of the fall, the 10 metres mentioned above is an estimation based on contour lines on the terrain map. Despite its small amount of water, the fall still murmurs beautifully even in June. As you walk towards the fall by the river, it shows up very suddenly, after a smaller rapid and a curve in the river.

In my opinion, Putaanköngäs is by far one of the most beautiful smaller-scale waterfalls in Finland. The gorge-like view opening up in the middle of the forest, with water splashing down through a crack in the cliff, is a treasure beyond comparison among the waterfalls in Kuusamo. A pearl of wilderness such as this brings to mind alpine scenery, and deserves more attention as a local attraction and as one of Finland’s natural wonders.