Lappland in northern Sweden is home to a number of spectacular national parks, the most scenic of these being Abisko National Park. Framed by mountain ranges in the south and west, and the waters of Tornetrask Lake, (pictured above) in the north, the low-lying valley of Abisko National Park is a wonder to behold.

     The Lapp Gate, Sweden’s most distinctive natural landmark, lies in the extreme north, 200 km above the Arctic Circle. The Lapp Gate is a startling U-shaped valley between two of Sweden’s tallest mountains, Tjuonatjakka and Nissotjarro, (pictured above). This perfectly symmetrical valley, from a distance looking like a giant hole cut through the mountain range, was shaped by glaciation. The Lapp Gate is known as the gateway to Swedish Lappland, an enchanting place of wild tundra, reindeer, and the native Lapp people, “the Sami”.

     On June 30th, 2018, I took a train from Narvik, Norway to Abisko, Sweden. There, I begin a 5-day hiking trek on the King’s Trail or “Kungsleden” in Sweden. Pictured below (upon my return) is the trailhead for the Kungsleden and the entrance to Lappland.

     The Kungsleden is a 450 km hiking trail that begins at Abisko National Park, and travel south to Hemavan. Hiking the entire route could take a month and would immerse me in some of the finest wilderness in Europe with vast open stretches of tundra and forest. I only hiked 5 days in and out of the wilderness.  This only gave me a taste of this world famous trail.

     The 24-hour arctic-light danced over the glistening Abiskojokka River, (pictured above), which ran through the park, and deep canyons with steep cliff walls that revealed the area’s violent geological past.

     Pictured above, the image is looking north at the Abiskojaure Camp.  I stayed here on the 1st and 4th nights.

     I made it as far as the Alesjaure Hut, (pictured above) I stayed here on my 2nd and 3rd nights.   I made it 50 km to the Tjaktja Point (picture below) .

     You can see that the weather turned to snow on me before I got to my destination at the Tjaktia High Point (pictured above). Note, that I was north of the Arctic Circle and the weather changed daily with the 24 hours of light in July.  I turned back after the 50 km mark.  Below is an image I took upon my return to Abisko, Sweden.