Finland is sometimes called the Land of a Thousand Lakes, but it could easily be called the Land of a Thousand Forests: they cover almost 70 per cent of Europe’s least densely populated country. (A new national park, Hossa, was established earlier this year to celebrate the country’s centenary.) In winter, its lakes and forests – like this one in Aulanko, in southern Finland’s Kanta-Häme region – turn into a frozen wilderness: pack your snowshoes.

Teemu Tretjakov / EyeEm / Getty Images
Europe
Wild Place: Hossa National Park, Finland
A frozen wilderness of lakes and forests
5 December 2017