Juha Ukkola is a reindeer herder born in Sodankylä. He has lived his entire life surrounded by the nature of Lapland.

At Áila, Juha acts as a local entrepreneur and the main host. With him, he brings a quiet wisdom fostered by northern nature, a wisdom born from growing up amidst the very same forests, rivers, and winters that Áila now guides its guests into.

Juha does not view Lapland from the outside looking in. For him, it is home, work, and heritage. It is the tracks of reindeer in the snow, the sounds of the forest on a frosty morning, the flow of the river on a summer night, and that ancient northern understanding that nature is not to be mastered, but lived in harmony with. Juha knows how to live in the North. How to face the winter. How to listen to nature. And how to exist in silence.

His background combines wilderness and nature guide training, forestry expertise, and knowledge of local reindeer herding. By education, Juha is a wilderness and nature guide, a forester, and a forestry engineer. His entire life has been built around the nature of Lapland.

This same connection to nature is also evident in his free time. Juha hunts, fishes, paddles the northern rivers, and roams the wilderness. For him, the forests and fells of Lapland are not places you simply visit. They are the world he was born into.

When Áila’s guests step away from modern comforts for a moment, Juha ensures that the simplicity of the North feels authentic, while making sure all practical matters run smoothly and safely.

Juha brings a quiet, practical wisdom to Áila.

Áila is built from northern wood, but ultimately, the soul of the place comes from its people.

Thanks to Juha Ukkola, Áila has a strong local heart.