Kungsleden · Lapland

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

The King’s Trail above the Arctic Circle.

The northern section of the Kungsleden from Abisko to Nikkaluokta is the best-known part of a trail the Swedish Tourist Association has maintained for over a century. Birch scrub gives way to tundra, footbridges hang over turquoise rapids, and by the tenth kilometre you stop meeting people. It ends beneath Kebnekaise at 2,096 m, the highest point in Sweden, with the option of climbing it by the western route.

• The Abiskojokk canyon and the gate to Laponia
• The Tjaktja pass and the Tjaktjavagge valley
• STF huts with lakeside saunas
• Optional ascent of Kebnekaise, 2,096 m

1. 01
   DAY 1 · 7 km, 150 m of ascent

   Kiruna, transfer and start at Abisko

   We meet in Kiruna and drive ninety minutes to Abisko at 385 m. Group gear and food are shared out, and we walk the first seven kilometres along the canyon before evening.

   Overnight: Abisko mountain station
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 14 km, 150 m of ascent

   Abisko to Abiskojaure

   A gentle way in: 14 kilometres along the Abiskojokk through birch woods and over boardwalks. The hut sits by the lake and the sauna is lit in the evening.

   Overnight: Abiskojaure hut, 490 m
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 21 km, 400 m of ascent

   Up into the tundra to Alesjaure

   A long stage of 21 kilometres, leaving the tree line for open plateau. The Alesjaure hut stands on a rise above a chain of lakes, beside a Sami summer settlement.

   Overnight: Alesjaure hut, 780 m
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 13 km, 250 m of ascent

   The valley below the Tjaktja pass

   Thirteen kilometres of gradual climbing up a broad valley where reindeer graze. Tjaktja hut is the last before the high point of the trail, and in the evening we study the pass forecast.

   Overnight: Tjaktja hut, 1,000 m
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 12 km, 200 m of ascent

   Over the Tjaktja pass, 1,150 m

   The high point of the Kungsleden and its most exposed ground: an emergency shelter stands on the col and the wind never quite drops. Then down into the Tjaktjavagge and twelve kilometres to Salka.

   Overnight: Salka hut, 800 m
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 12 km, 100 m of ascent

   Salka to Singi and the turn to Kebnekaise

   Twelve kilometres along the Tjaktjajokk to the junction at Singi, where the main Kungsleden heads south. We turn east into the Ladtjovagge.

   Overnight: Singi hut, 700 m
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 14 km, 200 m of ascent

   To the foot of Kebnekaise

   Fourteen kilometres to the Kebnekaise mountain station at 700 m, past glacier snouts and waterfalls. A three-course dinner, a shower and a sauna — a sharp contrast to five days on a stove.

   Overnight: Kebnekaise mountain station, 700 m
8. 08
   DAY 8 · 20 km, 1,700 m of ascent

   The ascent of Kebnekaise

   The western route to the South Summit at 2,096 m: 1,700 metres of cumulative ascent, including the dip through the Vierranvagge gorge. Ten to twelve hours with easy scrambling near the top.

   Overnight: Kebnekaise mountain station
9. 09
   DAY 9 · 13 km plus the lake boat

   Out to Nikkaluokta

   A final 19 kilometres down the valley to Nikkaluokta, six of which the lake boat across Ladtjojaure can save. From there a bus to Kiruna and a farewell dinner.

   Overnight: —