Pallas Ski Resort, Hiihtokeskus Pallas

Pallas sits high in Arctic Finland on the treeless fells of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, and it is as much a Nordic and wilderness destination as an Alpine one. The downhill area itself is small, with a short scatter of pistes off the fellside served by a couple of lifts, but the real draw is the immense network of cross-country tracks winding through some of Finland's most protected and cleanest-air landscape. It suits families, cross-country skiers and anyone chasing the stripped-back calm of the far north rather than lift-served vertical. The Arctic location gives an exceptionally long, dependable snow season, with a polar-night stillness in midwinter and long light by spring. A historic fell hotel anchors the tiny settlement.