What is ruska or autumn foliage?
Lapland becomes colourful in the autumn; it is time for Ruska, the autumn colors. Ruska is nature’s last show before snow covers landscape once again. Many trees, such as birch, aspen and mountain ash, whose leaves turn to bright yellow or deep scarlet, make the scenery more beautiful than ever. The hillsides are ablaze with colour and the whole landscape is like a huge impressionistic painting. The exact time of ruska is impossible to predict, but it is usually at its best between last week of August and mid-September.
Autumn is also the time when it is time to collect nature’s crop from the forest. In autumn Lapland forests are full of berries, mushrooms and herbs ready to be picked up.