Nellim ( or '; ; ) is a village on the shore of

Lake Inari Lake Inari (, , , , , ) is the largest lake in Sápmi and the third-largest lake in Finland. It is located in the northern part of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. The lake is above sea level, and is regulated at the Kaitakoski power plan ...

in Inari,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

that has three distinctly different cultures:

Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...

, the

Inari Sámi Inari Sámi may refer to: *Inari Sámi language *Inari Sámi people Inari or Aanaar Sámi (Inari Sámi language, Inari Sámi: ''anarâšah'') are a group of Sámi people who inhabit the area around Lake Inari, Finland. They speak the Inari Sámi l ...

and the

Skolt Sámi Skolt Sámi (, , ; or , , ) is a Sámi languages, Sámi language that is spoken by the Skolts, with approximately 300 speakers in Finland, mainly in Sevettijärvi and approximately 20–30 speakers of the (Notozero) dialect in an area surround ...

. Nellim is approximately northeast of

Ivalo Ivalo (, , , ) is a village in the municipality of Inari, Lapland, Finland, located on the Ivalo River south of Lake Inari in the Arctic Circle. It has a population of 3,998 and a small airport, located 11 kilometres (7 mi) southwest from Iv ...

and approximately away from the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n border. The village has a hotel with a bar (open for winter season), a cafeteria (open in the summer), a marina, an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

wilderness church and a Wilderness hotel. Other landmarks in the area include an old log flume, the Travelers' Cross at Tsarmijärvi, and remnants of the Rautaportti "Iron Gate" fortifications that were constructed in the second world war. The people of Nellim claim that it is the best location in Finland to view the Northern Lights.

Livelihood

The main sources of

livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential ...

in Nellim are

reindeer husbandry Reindeer herding is when reindeer are herded by people in a limited area. Currently, reindeer are the only semi-domesticated animal which naturally belong to the North. Reindeer herding is conducted in nine countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russ ...

natural economy Natural economy is a type of economy in which money is not used in the transfer of resources among people. It is a system of allocating resources through direct bartering, entitlement by law, or sharing out according to traditional custom. In th ...

and tourism. Villages in Inari, Finland {{Lapland-geo-stub