Services in Hepoköngäs Nature Reserve

Customer Service and Guidance

There is an information board at Hepoköngäs parking area. Visitors can get information and brochures about the surrounding area from the summer time café located by the road leading the waterfall.
For more information or to buy maps visit the tourist information point in the centre of Puolanka (puolanka.fi, in Finnish).
More information from Kuhmo Visitor Centre Petola

A person has bended down to read the information board. There is a lot of snow on the ground and on the roof of the info board.

Following enterprises and other organisations (Luontoon.fi, in Finnish) offer services in the Hepoköngäs and other protected areas in Kainuu. They have a cooperation agreement with Metsähallitus and they follow the principles of sustainable nature tourism when operating in the hiking area.

A privately owned café, which is open from June through August, is situated on the road leading to Hepoköngäs Waterfall

Lighting a campfire on Hepoköngäs Nature Reserve is allowed only at the campfire shelter by the waterfall.
There is a campfire site on the ground of the cafe, by the road leading to Hepoköngäs Waterfall.
Please note that lighting campfires is strictly forbidden when a wildfire warning is in effect.

A campfire shelter. There is snow on the roof of the shelter and snow and ice on the ground.

Water from lakes, rivers and streams should be boiled for a few minutes before drinking, as the water quality varies by region and according to the temperature.

There are no waste bins on the area. This means that each visitor is responsible for his or hers own waste and must make sure it is brought out of the area to the recycling point. Biodegradable waste should be placed in a toilet or composter, and small amounts of clean paper and cardboard can be used as kindling in a campfire. Read more about Hiking without littering.

There is an accessible toilet at the Hepoköngäs parking area.
Another accessible toilet is by the waterfall, 300 metres from the parking place.
The indoor toilets can be found at the summer café, which situates before the parking area.

Three small wooden buildings in a snowy forest.

There is a hotel as well as a camping ground in the centre of Puolanka 15 km from the area.
There is a hotel as well as cabin accommodation in Paljakka.
Check the tourist services in Paljakka (paljakka.fi) and Ukkohalla (ukkohalla.fi).
Lomarengas (lomarengas.fi) has a wide selection of holiday homes also in Puolanka.

The trails leading to Hepoköngäs Waterfall and the structures and toilets along them are accesible.
The steepest slope, which leads to ramp leading the lookout platform, is at an angle of 8%.
The Hepoköngäs summer café is accessible by wheelchair.

The closest shops, kiosks and restaurants, banks, post office, healthcare centre, taxi service, pharmacy, fuel distribution point and public phone are in the centre of Puolanka (puolanka.fi, in Finnish), 15 km from the area
The Paljakka area (paljakka.fi) has abundant services.
Sights in the Surrounding Area
- Pirunkirkko Gorge (in Finnish, luontoon.fi) near Paljakka Tourism Centre. Pirunkirkko old-growth forest is located on the southwest side of Paljakka Strict Nature Reserve. Pirunkirkko is a rocky and partly steep sloped gorge along the bottom of which the River Louhenjoki runs.