Onto a nature trail straight from a shopping centre
Kouvola is not all concrete. The majority of our area is covered in lakes and forests. Some of them are located right next to city centre.
You don’t have to read extensive international surveys to know that people in the same travel contingent can have very different objects of interest.
Let’s take an example. It’s quite normal that, out of five passengers in a car, three may consider shopping as an important or very important part of the holiday. The remaining two passengers may consider shopping unimportant or quite unimportant. Instead, they might consider trekking as important or very important. On their feet they have sturdy shoes, whilst those who like shopping have beautiful footwear, quite unsuitable for the countryside.
Precipices and old forest
In Kouvola, the aforementioned groups never disagree about what to do as each can head in the direction they want.
Along Route 6, in the vicinity of Prisma Shopping Centre and the Veturi Shopping Centre there is the Niivermäki conservation area.
Niivermäki is a combination of steep rapakivi cliffs, woodland hollows and fern growths bordering a stream bed. In the gaps between spruce groves are noble deciduous trees and decaying wood. The bird population includes species that favour old-growth forests.
A sign-posted nature trail 2.1 km long winds its way around the conservation area. The signs also have Kaarle raven’s section for children. Along the trail is a nature observation tower and benches for stopping for a snack, so those who hate shopping centres will have a nice time while waiting for the shoppers.
Stunning Heisanharju
If you can keep a secret, we will reveal to you a gem of Kouvola nature tourism, not even known by all the natives of the region.
A longitudinal ridge transects Heisanharju conservation area situated in the Jaala wilderness area, around which a string of pearls consisting of small lakes and ponds has entwined itself.
Highway 4164 has a signpost to the Heisanharju car park. A trail about 2 km long starts from the car park and goes along the ridge. Once you reach a ’kota’, a lean-to and a campfire site, you know that you have reached the heart of Heisanharju.
It is particularly good to escape to Heisanharju, if the other members of your entourage are not satisfied with only a few hours for shopping. If you know that the shopping trip will last a whole day, we recommend Repovesi National Park as a nature retreat.