As Kotka-Jukola 2026 prepares to welcome tens of thousands of orienteers, one thing is certain: the Eastern Coast is ready to charm its visitors. The event’s key partner is Visit Kotka-Hamina, which sees Jukola as a unique opportunity to showcase the region’s tourism treasures to the entire orienteering community.
Kotka, Hamina and Loviisa and their surrounding region have in recent years emerged ever more strongly on the tourism map. Maritime nature, historic towns, layers of culture and hiking destinations form a diverse whole that Visit Kotka-Hamina also wants to highlight in connection with Jukola. We wanted to hear from Visit Kotka-Hamina what the Kotka-Jukola partnership means from their perspective.
Why did Visit Kotka-Hamina want to become a key partner of Kotka-Jukola?
“The Kotka, Hamina and Loviisa area is a rising travel destination. Our main attractions such as the Kotka archipelago, the Maritime Centre Vellamo, our famous parks, the Maretarium aquarium house, the River Kymijoki, the Strömfors Ironworks, Malmgård Manor, the old town of Hamina and the charming wooden-house town of Loviisa are attracting more and more interest all the time.
We see Jukola as a great opportunity to tell the 50,000 people coming to the event about what our area has to offer, so that they can get the most out of the Eastern Coast both during the Jukola Relay and their training period. And of course we hope they will fall so much in love with the region that they will come back also after Jukola.”
What does Visit Kotka-Hamina want to highlight during the event and around it?
“The Eastern Coast’s diverse travel destinations, some of which I already listed above. We believe that orienteers will also be interested in the area’s magnificent nature, such as Valkmusa National Park, the Kukuljärvi hiking trail in Loviisa, the Salpapolku trail and Myllylampi in Miehikkälä, the Portimon polut trails in Hamina and the Tuntemattoman polku trail in Virolahti.”
What do the cities of Kotka, Loviisa and Hamina mean to you as a region and as a community?
“The maritime city of Kotka is a rugged home of old sea dogs and is now experiencing a resurgence as a major city of renewable energy. Here you can visit Russian Emperor Alexander III’s summer residence at Langinkoski, party to top artists’ gigs at the Satama Arena and find out whether the Kotka Maritime Festival lives up to its reputation as a bacchanal or whether it also offers plenty of free, high-quality programme for all ages.
Too few people know that in the 19th century Hamina flourished as a meeting place of cultures, whose blocks were home to the Mechelins, Simbergs, Enckells and other great names speaking French, German, Swedish, Finnish and Russian. The slogan ‘small town of world class’ is no exaggeration, because when you walk the streets of Hamina, you realise you do not need to go all the way to Stockholm to feel the charm of a European old town. By the way, besides Hamina there is only one other fortress town built in a circular shape left in the whole of Europe.
For those who love picturesque wooden quarters, Loviisa is a treasure. The red salt storehouses at Laivasilta harbour house restaurants, cafés, artisan shops and exhibition spaces. Twice a year you can visit Loviisa’s lovingly restored old houses and their beautiful gardens during special open-house weekends.”
How do you see the Jukola Relay as part of Visit Kotka-Hamina’s tourism marketing work?
“20,000 orienteers, 50,000 people on the competition area in a single day and nearly 20 hours of live TV coverage on Yle’s channels offer us an excellent opportunity to tell a huge audience about the gems of our region. Orienteers are smart, educated and have strong purchasing power, and they will certainly also be interested in our region’s history between East and West.
Here, on the eastern shore of the Western world, you can go exploring for example at Svartholma Sea Fortress off the coast of Loviisa, at the Salpa Line Museum in Miehikkälä, at the Bunker Museum in Virolahti and among the ruins of the Ruotsinsalmi fortress town in Kotka and its surrounding waters.”
What greetings would you like to send to future visitors and orienteers?
“A warm welcome to the Eastern Coast on a journey of discovery! We hope that in addition to the controls you will also find the very best experiences our region has to offer.
These are exciting times, as Alvar Aalto’s most extensive realised design work, the Sunila residential area and factory in Kotka, has been nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List. If you want to experience the world’s most beautiful factory area (whose field is where Krista Tervo throws hammer) before the whole world discovers it, you can rent an affordably priced apartment in Sunila restored in its original style. We should also mention that Japanese professional football player Atomu Tanaka, who came to play in Kotka, fell so deeply in love with Sunila that he moved there to live. Discover the gems of the Eastern Coast on our website visitkotkahamina.fi and on our social media channels. Our tourist information also serves you at +358 40 135 65 88.”
The Eastern Coast is calling – before Kotka-Jukola, during the competition weekend and after it
Kotka-Jukola 2026 offers orienteers a competition experience, and Visit Kotka-Hamina wants to offer alongside it another adventure – a journey into the maritime, historic and nature-rich Eastern Coast.