The oldest and largest
national parks in Sweden are to be found in Norrbotten. Eight of Sweden's twenty-eight
national parks are located here. With the exception of Muddus and the Haparanda
archipelago, the national parks in the province are in the mountain region. Together they
cover over 6000 km², which means that the national parks in Norrbotten count for 95 % of
the area dedicated to national parks in Sweden. The parks in the mountain region comprise
5500 km². Swedish laws protect their natural environment.
Vadvetjåkka
National Park
Vadvetjåkka National Park north of the Torneträsk lake has a varied flora in its
meadows, forest and marsh areas.
Abisko National Park
The Abisko National Park has an abundance of plant species, a number of them quite
rare. Abisko is the national park that receives most visitors in the province. Undoubtedly
the deep canyon in Abisko is the biggest attraction.
Stora Sjöfallet National Park
The Stora Sjöfallet National Park is a high alpine park with arctic
characteristics. Large areas are devoid of vegetation, consisting of boulders, snowfields
and glaciers. In the park there is a primeval pine forest. However the park has been
damaged by hydroelectric power reservoirs.
Sarek National Park
Sarek is a high alpine park with arctic characteristics. Large areas are devoid of
vegetation, consisting of boulders, snowfields and glaciers. No other Swedish area has so
many majestic massifs and deep eroded valleys, so many peaked mountains and large
glaciers.
Padjelanta National Park
The Padjelanta National Park is a low mountain area with some of the most
interesting flowering vegetation of the whole mountain chain. The billowing high plateau
is rich in plant species.
Muddus National Park
Muddus National Park is one of the country's most excellent virgin forests. Many
older pines show scars of forest fires that have affected the landscape. There are also
marsh areas here that have an abundance of birds.
Pieljekaise National Park
The Pieljekaise National Park is most known for its lush meadow birch forests.
Regulations
All national parks allow visitors admittance and basically people can move freely
within the park. Common sense in dealing with nature is a good rule of thumb when visiting
a national park. As is true anywhere, to litter is to commit a crime against the
environmental code. Whoever visits a national park must be aware of the regulations for
that specific park.
These regulations explain what is and what is not allowed. Regulations
vary somewhat from one park to another, but no park allows hunting. With a few exceptions,
this is also true of fishing. Berries and mushrooms can be picked to eat in the park. In
the mountain parks the Sami have certain special rights which relate to their reindeer
husbandry.
Visit the Parks
The rapidly changing weather and the steep topography make visiting the mountain
areas a challenge. The national parks are large wilderness areas as well, and haven't been
adapted much for visitors.
People without much experience in the mountains can, nonetheless, visit parts of Abisko
and Stora Sjöfallet. Throughout these national parks there are actually roads and even
small tourist localities with mountain hotels inside the parks. These tourist facilities
are good points of departure for day outings in the surrounding national park area. Marked
hiking trails such as Kungsleden make hiking less difficult in Abisko and Stora
Sjöfallet.
Likewise Muddus can be reached easily for day excursions from connecting roads at the
border of the park. In Muddus, if one wants to cover all the things worth seeing, it would
be good to plan a hike of several days duration along the trail that has cabins in four
different locations where one can spend the night.
The smaller mountains parks of Vadvetjåkka and Pieljekaise are farther away from the
nearest road, and it will take at least two days to visit them. The national park complex
of Padjelanta, Sarek and the western part of Stora Sjöfallet is more demanding for the
visitors than the other parks. Sarek and the adjacent part of Stora Sjöfallet is a
difficult area. It lacks trails and presents an almost impassable terrain, being subject
to frequent rains. This national park area should only be visited by people who are
well-experienced mountain hikers.
The terrain in Padjelanta is not as extreme as in Sarek but it is rainy even there. A
hiking trail with cabins to spend the night makes it a more appropriate area for less
experienced mountain hikers.
