Palovartija House, Rental hut

Location

• Eastern Finland, South Savo, Savonlinna, Punkaharju Nature Reserve
• Address: Punkaharjun harjutie 124, 58500 Punkaharju
• Coordinates:
  ETRS89 (WGS84) (lat.) 61° 46.271', (lon.) 29° 20.963' (Use these coordinates for 112 emergency calls)
  ETRS-TM35FIN 6850930, 623957

Palovartija House is located on the shore of Lake Pihlajavesi, close to ship traffic. The hut can be reached by car from Punkaharjun harjutie. There is parking space for a few cars on the hut grounds.

Maps

• Precise location of the hut: Excursionmap.fi
• Punkaharju Nature Reserve brochure map (pdf 1.8 MB, julkaisut.metsa.fi)
• Mikkeli-Savonlinna-Punkaharju boating chart, 1: 50 000. Karttakeskus.
• Terrain map M542, 1:50 000. The National Land Survey of Finland 2017.  
• GT road map Finland East, 1:250 000. Karttakeskus 2020.

Directions

By car

• Palovartija House can be reached by car on highway 14; 32 km from Savonlinna and 90 km from Imatra. The hut is 370 km from Helsinki. When driving in from the south, turn onto Punkaharjun harjutie 4792, drive another 1.2 km, and then turn left at the address sign 124 onto the narrow cottage road, which runs up the ridge. The hut is approximately 200 metres from Harjutie.

By public transportation

• Punkaharju can also be easily reached using public transportation. Palovartija is 2,3 km away from Punkaharju railway station.
• Buses (matkahuolto.fi) run regularly from both Savonlinna and Imatra.
• A railbus (vr.fi) stops several times a day at the Punkaharju village, Retretti and Lusto stops.
• There is also a flight connection to Savonlinna.

By boat

• Palovartija House can easily be reached by boat from the fairways on Lake Pihlajavesi and Lake Puruvesi. There is no pier on the shore.

Price 2024

• Rental season 3 June - 29 September 2024, rates starting from 210 € / 2 days, 630 €/7 days (incl. 10% VAT)
• The reservation day starts at 2 pm and ends at 12 noon the next day.
• The rate does not include the final cleaning fee.

Keys

• The information regarding the keys is given in the reservation confirmation.

Facilities

• In the main building, the bedroom has a double bed and there is a pull-out sofa in the main room. There are pillows, blankets and mattresses but you have to bring your own sheets and towels.

• It is not recommended to use the bunkhouses beds because of the larvae of the larder beetle (dermestes lardarius).

• There are electric lighting, stove and refrigerator, kitchen utensils and dishware for eight. Electric heating only in the main building. The hut’s bread oven and wood-burning stove are not in use.
• The main building has a water supply, but it is recommended to boil the water before use.
• Outhouse as a toilet (composting). No toilet paper provided.
• There is a campfire site next to the sauna.
• The wood-burning waterfront sauna is located at the foot of the hill, on the shore of an esker pond. Firewood can be found in the shed.
• Root cellar in the yard.
• There is a rowboat at the guests’ disposal on the shore of Lake Pihlajavesi.

Waste Management

• A responsible hiker practices litter-free hiking and leaves no trace.
• You can burn small amounts of paper and cardboard in the sauna fireplace, for example. 
• Take degradable waste in the composting toilet.                      
• Empty the ashes from the sauna stove into the ash container near the sauna (metal bin) once they have cooled down. 
• There are collection containers for sorted waste (cardboard, metal, glass, plastic, paper) in the centre of Punkaharju, near the S-market store.
• There is a collection container for mixed waste at the shed.
   

Notices

• You can hear cars and the railbus on the grounds. 
• There are no accessible services in the hut. The elevation difference between the house, the sauna and the campfire site is significant.
• Pets are not allowed inside the hut.
• Pitching tents in the yard is not allowed.
• Stairs lead from the hut down to the Lake Pihlajavesi shore, where there is no pier.
• The tenant is responsible for cleaning the hut before leaving. There is cleaning equipment at the house.
• There are fences in the yard area, as shepherd weeks are also occasionally organised in Palovartija.
• The hut’s bread oven and wood-burning stove are not in use.
• No toilet paper is provided.
• Campfires are prohibited during forest fire warnings or grassfire warnings. Check to see if there any warnings in effect (ilmatieteenlaitos.fi).
• Mobile phone coverage (in finnish).

Customer service and maintenance

• Maintenance is carried out by: Metsähallitus, Parks & Wildlife Finland. 
• General observations, customer service and maintenance needs: Saimaa Nature Centre Riihisaari, tel. +358 206 39 5929, Riihisaari, 57130 Savonlinna. Please notice that the calls can sometimes be re-directed to Koli Nature Centre Ukko
• Acute maintenance needs: Tel. +358 (0)40 094 1170
• E-mail: saimaa(at)metsa.fi