Whether you’re an experienced mountain hiker or a beginner, the Padjelanta Trail is an excellent choice. In Sweden’s largest national park, you can hike again and again.
The midnight sun in the World Heritage Site Laponia flows until mid-July. That’s when life itself peaks, mountain flowers begin to seed, early summer’s mosquito swarms have secured the next generation, birds’ eggs have hatched, and cloudberries start to ripen. The following months are perfect for mountain hiking. But remember that dogs are not allowed since Padjelanta is reindeer grazing land. If one happens to come along, it will have to stay at a dog kennel in Jokkmokk during your trip.
Many Alternative Hiking Routes
The 150-kilometer-long Padjelanta Trail between Kvikkjokk and Ritsem partly runs through the national park of the same name. The Lule Sami name is Badjelánnda, meaning ‘the higher land,’ which is spot on.
You can choose to start in Kvikkjokk or in Ritsem. If you choose to start from Kvikkjokk Mountain Station, take a water taxi through the winding delta. After waving goodbye to the boat driver, you have quite a distance to walk through spruce and mountain birch forest before reaching above the tree line. The flowering meadows at the new settlement of Njunjes beneath the characteristic and frequently photographed Skierfe cliff will likely be your first stage destination.
Daily helicopter flights run from Kvikkjokk to Stáloluokta. Many choose to fly there and take a shorter hike to Änonjálmme. There are two route choices in the northern part of the trail. You can start – or end – the hike in Vájsáluokta or Änonjálmme. The trails converge at Sállohávrre. Boats run several times daily between Ritsem, Änonjálmme, and Vájsáluokta during peak season.
In the northern part of the trail, the terrain is easy to walk. The paths are nice and partly boardwalked. You can expect a pleasant hike taking between five and eight days. While many other mountain areas can have rocky terrain, you mostly avoid that here.
Buy gáhkko from the cabin host and catch your dinner
Thirteen cabins, seven of which are in Laponia, are located about 13-15 kilometers apart, making for good daily stages. Cabins outside Laponia are owned and operated by STF (Swedish Tourist Association), while the cabins inside Laponia are managed by the Sami villages Jåhkkågasska, Sirges, and Tuorpon, who have their reindeer summer grazing in the area. The cabins’ standard is good, and an extra bonus is that you can buy smoked mountain fish and gáhkko, the traditional soft flatbread, from the cabin hosts, in addition to the usual provisions available for sale. Shopping along the way is undeniably smart, as an overly heavy pack makes no one happy.
Fishing is prohibited inside the national parks, with one exception. Fishing is allowed within one kilometer on both sides of the Padjelanta Trail. With the Jokkmokk fishing permit for state waters above the cultivation boundary, you may catch two salmonids per day
Limestone Heaths with Unique Flora
Padjelanta’s round mountains, flowering heaths, and large lakes form a landscape that is restful for both eye and soul. It’s easy to fall into a peaceful rhythm and your own thoughts. Many consider the stretch between Stáloluokta and Arasluokta to be the most beautiful.
Padjelanta’s flora has an impressive diversity of mountain plants that have made botanists somewhat ecstatic through the centuries. Carl von Linné passed through both Staloluokta and Arasluokta on his way to and from Norway. He was amazed by the species richness and all the plants he had never encountered before. The inventory work was almost overwhelming. His field studies in these regions became the famous book Flora Lapponica.
In the travelogue published after his death, there were many observations of Sami culture, and he described with wonder the Sami people’s living conditions and excellent physical condition.
Don’t Rush
The large stretches of limestone-rich rocks have favored vascular plants in Padjelanta. The flora on the mountain heaths is unique. Here are more than 400 vascular plants not found anywhere else in the mountains. In all of Europe, only in Padjelanta does the protected Nordic cinquefoil grow. The intensely blue snow gentian, Gentiana nivalis L., King Karl’s scepter, Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum L., mountain avens, Dryas octopetala L., blue heath, Phyllodoce caerulea (L.) Bab., Lapp kidney vetch, Anthyllis vulneraria L., and Diapensia, Diapensia lapponica L., are some other examples of rarities. The contrast between the tiny plants and the vast views is striking. Don’t rush. It’s not the number of kilometers that counts on a hike, but what you discover and experience along the way.
Besides a flora guide, it’s not a bad idea to bring a bird book. Being able to figure out whether it’s a Dotterel, Charadrius morinellus, or a European Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria, flying by enhances the experience. If you also bring binoculars, the spotting becomes even more interesting. There are excellent apps where you can listen to bird calls to try to identify which birds line your path. However, many now raise a warning finger. The risk of disturbing the birds during their short breeding period is high if they suddenly have to compete with a digital rival. Better to listen to bird songs while resting on the cabin bunk in the evening, and decide which bird to listen for tomorrow.
Forget the Phone and Look Around
Regarding mobile phones, probably the best advice is to keep it turned off during the hike. Coverage is usually poor anyway, so take the chance to have a healthy break from the otherwise constantly connected everyday life. The camera, however, is almost indispensable.
If you’re attentive, you might discover traces of reindeer corrals, or milk corrals as they’re also called. They reveal themselves as green grass patches up on the mountain heaths. The corrals are remnants from when reindeer were tamer than today and reindeer husbandry was smaller scale. The milk corrals were used for milking the female reindeer and as grazing grounds. This form of reindeer husbandry has been history for more than fifty years, but the traces are still visible.
Fresh Water and Persistent Companions
Mountain streams with clean, clear, and cold water that tastes deliciously good flow everywhere. Help yourself. Just fill your water bottle. A big plus is that all major streams in Padjelanta have bridges, so you avoid difficult fords here.
If you go at the start of the season, you’ll likely discover that you’re coveted prey. Mosquitoes and gnats will pursue you intensely. Make absolutely sure to bring mosquito repellent, and perhaps a mosquito hat. If you’re lucky, it will be windy, and then the mosquitoes are less troublesome. From late July and in August, the worst mosquito season usually subsides. The new generation is secured for next year. And perhaps you’ve managed to avoid contributing to it.
Plan Your Trip
Plan ahead, study maps, buy or borrow books about Padjelanta, read hiking blogs, or talk to other hikers. The better prepared you are, the more you’ll get out of your hike. Don’t have too high ambitions but realize that the hike itself is the goal, not reaching the end. It’s better to really experience a short section of the Padjelanta Trail than to rush through the whole thing. Plan for an extra day, or keep your end date open.
Allow yourself to really sit down and just observe Padjelanta’s most beautiful lake, Virihaure, or something else that fascinates you, for half a day if you like. That – if anything – is time well invested.
Text: Iréne Lundström