Chamber mountain cave (Kammiovuoren Luola)

On the same ski trip to Himos (article, alt. link), I also stopped near Kuhmoinen to look at the Kammiovuori caves (Kammiovuori is Chamber Mountain). I was unable to find anything from the Internet about this, but the book about Finnish caves lists it, so I went to see it. It was a bit sketchy road to drive, but I managed to get to a close-by location. And found the cave, worth a visit!

I parked the car roughly at these coordinates: N 61.6382 E 25.3557, there's a small extension to turn the car around and put it by the road. But the road is just a forestry road, no one drives it, there's plenty of rocks, can be fallen trees on the road, etc. From this spot there's a very thick forest to go through but once you get to the cleared/logged area you can walk much easier. 

The cave is at the bottom of the small canyon, or maybe it is a valley between two hills. Looks like this:

There's also a small lake to the left of the canyon:

There's the main cave but also a few small other holes:

• Kammiovuoren pikkukolo (small hole, a bit over a meter maybe). Coordinates N 61.638504 E 25.359516.
• Kammiovuoren pikkuhalkema (small crack, maybe 5 meters). Coordinates N 61.638477 E 25.359720.
• Kammiovuoren luola (the actual cave, length according to my 3D model is X meters). Coordinates N 61.638320 E 25.359638. The 3D model can be downloaded here, the map here, and the model can be rotated on your browser screen here.

Main cave photos (also the one at the top of the article):

Small crack:

Small hole:

This article has also been published at Planetcaver.net here. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

Searching for the Mullikkarotti cave (Mullikkarotin luola)

Mullikkarotti ("bull rat"?) is an interesting canyon near Jämsä. I was here to ski (article, alt. link), but stopped on the way to look at caves. However, I was unable to find the actual cave. Later reading the book of Finnish caves ("Suomen Luolat") I realize that the cave was a 7m vertical crack on the cliff face. But I didn't actually see such a crack. And moving around was a bit challenging in the still ice-filled water pools at the bottom and falling snow. Maybe next time I'll find it. But I did find several other smaller holes.

The one hole that I found that I could perhaps classify as cave was this under-the-boulder path at N 61.809008 E 25.040267. A photo:

But there were several others, for instance:

• Another (but smaller) through hole under a boulder at coordinates N 61.808997 E 25.040267. Just next to the above one. Photo:

• A third through hole, but small at coordinates N 61.808853 E 25.040153. Photo:

• A small hole at N 61.808872 E 25.039958. Photo:

• A deep hole closer to the bottom of the canyon, might lead somewhere at N 61.809392 E 25.040233.

• A long crack that forms a (shallow, maybe 1 m x 10 m) shelter cave: N 61.809139 E 25.039964. Photo:

Also at these coordinates there were smaller holes: N 61.809417 E 25.040278 (possibly some paths leading under boulders), N 61.808994 E 25.040225 (boulder on top of another provides some space underneath, maybe 1.5 x 1.5 m), and N 61.808631 E 25.040072 (tiny space between two boulders).

More pictures of the canyon and the weather:

This article has also been published at Planetcaver.net here. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

Saunas and Airbus 350s

It is always fun to fly Finnair to non-Schengen destinations. The lounge food on the non-Schengen side is way, way better than on the Schengen side. And the sauna. I had upgraded my flights to business class, one way on an Airbus A321, and on the other way on the A350.

But I almost didn't make it. Turns out that something was wrong in a change to my reservation, and the Finnair checkin desk in Helsinki simply could not check me in ... really? And the plane was about to leave, I was already late. But then I called the Platinum phone number and they fixed it :-) This caused me to miss dinner at the lounge, but I had a quick 5 minute session at the sauna. Phew.

On the way back I stopped at the -- my recommendation -- Cathay lounge in Heathrow. They are excellent food. This time I sat in the dining area, and ordered salmon for appetizer and dim sum for main course. Really, really good. Well done Cathay.

Outbound:

Inbound:

This article has also appeared here. Read all swimming stories at planetswimmer.com, sauna articles at saunablogger.cool, and flying articles at planetflier.com. Or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko.

Bath Baths

Two spas, separated by one block and two thousand years. One you can't swim in because it is dangerous, and one you can swim in. If you are a guest at the hotel, that is.

First, let's go to Bath's (the city) Roman Baths, the ancient spa. This site dates back to year 60 or 70, when a temple was built here. Or should I say year 0060 or 0070? Anyway, there are natural hot water springs underneath, and those were greatly enjoyed over many centuries, indeed even today there are hot baths in Bath but the original Roman Baths are no longer used. The main pool is lined with lead, and in 1978 there was a death in the nearby Thermae Bath Spa due to bathers contracting bacteria Naegleria fowleri. Since then new bore holes have been drilled to Thermae and hotel spas to use clean water. The Roman Batths, however, do not look clean at all. 

Water comes from Mendip Hills, flowing down in the limestone ground to a depth of several kilometers, and through a fault, the water heated by geothermal heat comes up in Bath's spring.  (I visited the Mendip hills for some caves and skiing.)

The official site for tickets etc. is here; tickets for adults cost from 23 to 33 pounds depending on season and weekday; over a million visitors stop at the baths every year. Wikipedia has more information about the history and water quality here.

And then secondly, The Gainsborough Bath Spa is a hotel with an underground spa, right next to the Thermae Bath Spa mentioned earlier, and a block away from the Roman Baths. It is an upscale hotel, and spa is quite nice, though only included in the room price early in the morning and late in the evening, the rest of the time you have to pay extra. However, being on level -2 at the hotel (and while it has a glass roof to the outside, it feels kind of more like a hotel basement spa (which it is) than an authentic Bath experience. Still very nice though. 

There are three levels of hot bathing pools and one big main pool. Then there are steam, infrared, and normal saunas, an ice room, and plenty of space to hang out on beds on the pool level and on the terrace above. Very nice, indeed only a small number of people fit in hence the restrictions for the hotel guests to use it at earlier and later times.

Photos from the Roman Baths:

Photos from the hotel spa:

This article has also been published here. For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot! The photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. The hotel spa pool photo in this article is from the spa's home page; all rights reserved by them.

Skiing, Caves, and Swimming on one trip

 

I managed a Mother's Day trip with a visit to see my mom, but also to ski a closed ski hill, hike to see a cave, and swim at a new swimming hall.

The skiing was at Porvoo's Kokonniemi ski resort, or "Porvoo Ski" as they now call it. It was closed for the summer, since a long time ago but there was quite a bit of snow left. Not all the way from the top, but several big patches. The one I skied was maybe 20 meters long.

It was funny that there was a sign "self-service" next to the slopes. Self-service indeed, walk up by myself, etc.

A few turns at least.

Photos:

Then I drove towards Kouvola, stopping at the Kolisevan Pirunpesä in Iitti. It is supposed to be two 10x long cracks, and I'm honestly not sure if I found the right place; I was running out of time so I could circle around the whole area, there was a cliff with the bottom, middle and top level. Coordinates were to the top, but there was around 20 meters of crack at the bottom of the cliff (near the houses by the road). Definitely under the rock, but didn't feel like a cave except at the end where one could go through an L shaped tunnel of maybe five meters. That part was nice!

Coordinates, as listed in the Suomen Luolat (caves of Finland) book:  N 60.76953 E 26.36751. Coordinates as I experienced them at the bottom of the cliff: N 60.769653 E 26.366905. I don't know, maybe I should go again to check the top of the cliff, even that's not where the caves usually are at.

Photos:

Finally, I ended up in one of the swimming halls of Kouvola, the one in Kuusankoski. It was quite ok, a 25 meter pool, a jacuzzi, and a kid's training pool. And a decommissioned outside pool. I guess that has happened in many places. Two saunas on both sides, or at least on the men's side. 

Not the fanciest building, kind of Kouvola style a bit. My son commented that it looks more rugged and grey than the cave :-) 

But overall a nice experience. Enjoyed the sauna and the swim!

More information about the swimming hall here.

Photos:

This article has also been published at Planetcaver.net here. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net, sauna and swimming stories from planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool, or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. The pool photo in this article is from the Kouvola home page; all rights reserved by the city.