Kituskosket rapids
The Kituskoski area (also Kituskosket on maps) in the village of Kotala is a protected area of old-growth forests bordered by spectacular rapids in the northern part. In the 35-hectare Natura area, you might spot an otter, a white-throated dipper or a black woodpecker, for example. The Eurasian wren, a hiding species and one of the smallest birds in Europe, announces itself in the spring and summer with a very loud song in Kituskoski's fir trees. There have also been sightings of flying squirrels in the area. Among the plant species, the herb Paris is found in Kituskoski's forests.
There is a nature trail in the area, marked on the trees with blue bears' paws, which, in places, runs through very rooty terrain. The occasionally gorgeous, gushing rapids are a beautiful sight in the shady forest. The Kituskosket rapids are a popular fishing area during the permitted fishing seasons. Along the nature trail in the middle of the forest at Mustakoski is a stone structure. It is an unfinished hydroelectric power plant project built at the turn of the 19th and 20th century that would have powered a paper mill.
On the shore of Lake Kitusjärvi, along the Itämerentie road, there is a parking area, an outhouse, a campfire hut and information boards nearby. The starting point of the nature trail is next to the parking area.
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E: 24,032787