A Gentle Foray into Finnish Wilderness Life: Nuuksio’s Tikankolo cabin is a Wonderful Glamping Destination and an introvert’s dream

On the shores of Saarilampi pond, on the western edge of Nuuksio National Park near Helsinki, stands a red and charming cabin, Tikankolo, in splendid solitude. It is, along with its sauna, the only cabin pair on the entire wilderness lake. My husband and I had booked the cabin for our use through Natura Viva, and the moment for our trip came in early March.

“Let’s see how this goes,” I thought. The workweek had somehow flashed by, and we seemed to have lulled ourselves into the carefree assumption of cabin life, having completely forgotten everything else. Where to park the car, are there interesting trails near the cabin, what’s the weather going to be like, and what on earth would we eat? Suddenly, it was late Thursday evening, and we had hardly made any plans for our visit to Nuuksio.

Drizzle and a tight schedule eventually led our hiking trip to turn purely into cabin time. At the grocery store in the village of Veikkola, I got a rose for Women’s Day along with a milk carton, and just like that, we were in such fine spirits that our wilderness outing turned into glamping.

Glamping, a term for luxury camping [glam + camping], usually involves clean sheets and, for instance, gourmet foods. With our home-cured salmon, Cointreau chocolate, and red wine (and the commemorative rose), the use of the term glamping is certainly justified.

We didn’t manage to have a symphony orchestra playing operettas in the background, but we did get the smoke alarm to go off. We had started to heat up the cabin’s wood stove directly, but we should have burned enough kindling first to warm up the chimney. The cold chimney didn’t draw, but smoke nicely pushed inside the cabin. The cabin’s atmospherically dark wooden walls have undoubtedly been marinated in many smokes over the years.

The evening hours then flew by in a flurry of activity. We aired and heated the cabin, and firewood was also needed for the sauna.

Sauna bathing might not traditionally be considered glamping, at least for the average Finn, although everyone knows how good a proper hot steam feels. And the sauna at Tikankolo, built just a couple of years ago, is absolutely excellent. There was more than enough space for two people in the sauna, and it’s sized just right for up to six bathers. It’s tempting to come back in the summer to dip into the adjacent lake between sauna sessions!

The cabin’s specialties and modern facilities include electric lights. I’m not really used to electricity in a cabin setting, so at Tikankolo, using the lights was a brief experiment. A useful feature, certainly, and it probably makes cabin life a bit more approachable, especially for beginners.

The next morning, we found a nub on the cabin wall that turned out to be a USB socket. Maybe it’s for charging something? We didn’t have any USB cables with us, so we couldn’t test it.

A fully equipped cabin felt both really great and somewhat alien at the same time. Having always carried my own camping dishes, I hardly dared to use someone else’s bowls and cups, let alone the spaghetti colander – that’s also part of Tikankolo’s equipment.

Tikankolo is an independent introvert’s dream: you get the keys with a code, without having to check in or return keys anywhere. Just walk up to the cabin on your turn, open the doors, and enjoy.

Comprehensive cabin instructions, including checklists, guide even beginners in proper cabin etiquette regarding cleaning and maintenance.

Based on this experience, I’ll have to slightly vary the next visit to Tikankolo: bring a couple of friends, book at least two nights, and get to know the surrounding area better. This time, the only forest experience turned out to be the squirrel tracks we spotted in the snow on our way back to the Valklampi parking lot.