The unique character of the year 2020 infamously influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic will certainly remain in our memories for quite a time. From the positive perspective, it may well change the way how we live on this planet. Importance of different aspects of our lives shall become more obvious, too; we may easily recognize what’s really important and what just seems to be.
With travel restrictions across Europe causing some hesitation, we finally took our chances and arranged our regular September northern adventure once more into the area of Sarek national park, Lapland, Sweden.
From the logistics perspective, flight, overnight train, taxi and helicopter were all used to get into the wilderness that is notoriously not easy to reach (which is something that also contributes to its magic).
The route across the deserted national park was slightly unusual and its highlight was our ascent of Tielma mountain in the heart of Sarek – we got some luck here in terms of the weather.
Our routing was: Knäet (heli drop-off) - Luohttoláhko plateau - Sarvesvágge - Tielma side trip - Rapaselet - Gådokjåhkå bridge - Ijvvárláhko plateau - Alep Suobbatjávrre lake - Tjahkelij side trip - Kungsleden - Kvikkjokk.
Over the years, I think we've tried all the possible transportation means to get into this unique national park that besides a bit complicated logistics requires at least a day-walk to reach its boundaries.
During troubled pandemic times, we combined Czech Airlines' PRG - ARN flight with overnight train journey to Murjek, a small outpost located literally in the middle of nowhere between Kiruna and Gällivare. To avoid bus journeys with considerable waiting time, we opted for taxi to get us directly to Kvikkjokk, and continued with a short helicopter flight to a place called Knäet located just at the borders of Sarek, not far from the Sámi settlement of Pårek.
Frankly, with only two scheduled flights per week between Prague and Stockholm it was kind of an uneasy planning, and in the end we were pretty much thankful we still got a chance to travel to the north.
Finally and needles to say, Swedish Statens Järnvägar (SJ) railways still lack adequate supplies of craft beer in their dining car 🤪 - we plundered their supplies quickly within an hour and rather than continue with uninspiring Carlsberg or Heineken, we called it a day and enjoyed good night's sleep in our sleeping compartments.
Fiskflyg helicopter charter flights are quite common in the area and well organized, and we had no problems getting to Knäet from Kvikkjokk - a short however pretty scenic chopper flight across the colourful autumn tundra landscape.
Since helicopters are not allowed to land within the boundaries of the park or to fly across it, we were dropped on a small island in the middle of the Njoatsosjåhkå river which meant a refreshing short wading just at the beginning of our trip.
The Njoatsosvágge valley looked really beautiful with fall colours all around, especially as we were blessed by sunny weather.
The hike along the Njoatsosjåhkå river wasn't much difficult, also thanks to a footpath we followed for quite a time. Then, however, we started to ascent towards the Luohttoláhko plateau in the northern direction, often battling through our "favourite" dense dwarf willow trees.
Retrospectively, it would be wiser to climb directly to the plateau instead of keeping the altitude and hiking on the slopes of the plateau above the Luohttojåhkå river, but these are the things one realizes only after the effort was carried out.
In a slowly deteriorating weather, we finally reached the plateau and pitched our tents at Luohttojávrre lake where we found a few quite convenient camping spots.
The night was long, cold, rainy and windy; not a surprise given the altitude of 1200m.
In occasional drizzle, we packed up our camp and began hiking in the eastern direction towards the Noajdevágge valley.
Our plan here was to climb Noajdde (1620m), yet with its peak covered in thick clouds we rather stayed below the cloud line.
Still, the views we got on Noajdde slopes were mesmerizing - both Sarvesvágge valley and Rapaselet delta where we were about to hike in upcoming days were seen from our vantage point, together with snow-capped peaks towards the Pårte massif.
The descent through the Noajdevágge valley was straightforward, and with improving afternoon weather we enjoyed autumn magic of the tundra landscape once again.
We kept on the right side of the Noajdejågåsj river to avoid unnecessary fording in Sarvesvágge, and soon a footpath started to form as we progressed down the valley.
Light conditions went to their best at the end of Noajdevágge, with evening sunlight illuminating the landscape softly and dark clouds cumulating above the western end of Sarvesvágge.
We had to continue hiking for quite a time across the dried river delta of Noajdevallda in a search of a suitable water source, finally pushing it to the Gaskasjågåsj river where we found a convenient and peaceful camping spot.
Two full days of hiking were behind us and we were already in the heart of the national park - things went according to our plan, giving us enough time for exploration of Sarek's interior.
Couple of years ago, we tried to reached the mountain plateau around Tielma via Dielmábuollda, yet low clouds that are pretty frequent in this part of Sarek didn't allow us going to the top.
This time, morning conditions looked so-so, but we took are chances and set out on a day trip, fording the thigh-deep Sarvesjåhkå river and immediately ascending through the dense vegetation on the northern slopes of Sarvesvágge.
Without heavy backpacks on our shoulders it was far much easier going, and soon we reached Dielmájávrásj lake. It was quite windy here and with occasional drizzle, yet after quick lunch we finally decided to push it further, though the weather conditions here weren't much promising.
Hiking towards the unnamed 1308m hill would be an easier option retrospectively, however we felt confident enough to continue almost directly to the top of Tielma, which was a pretty steep ascent involving some scrambling.
Things started to turn for the better when we reached the top, and Tielma (1642m) itself welcomed us with unexpected sun spells that brought some optimism and appetite to push it even further, in a sound attempt of a circular hike across the plateau.
It's a barren rocky land way up there which shows Sarek from a completely different perspective: no vegetation, just rocks, boulders, mountain peaks, snow and glaciers. Yet, maybe surprisingly, it wasn't difficult to hike here, since the area is quite flat.
We needed to cross the southern tip of the Jågåsjgaskajiegna glacier which luckily proved to be more like a frozen snowfield than a crevasses-filled danger.
We then continued hiking on the plateau in the north-east direction, aiming to reach a vantage point above the Ráhpajåhkå river.
In the meantime, the weather improved to become almost perfect; we got constant sunshine and almost no wind when we reached the eastern end of the plateau.
The views here were picture-perfect: we admired the Ráhpajåhkå river and the beautiful Rapaselet delta below the mighty Låddebákte from yet another perspective.
The descent back to Sarvesvágge was pretty straightforward, spiced by another bushwhacking on the slopes of the valley and a cold return dip in the Sarvesjåhkå river.
We decided to move our campsite towards Rapaselet, aiming for a half-day walk with backpacks and an afternoon hike to reach a nice vantage point on the slopes of Bielloriehppe.
Hiking along Sarvesjåhkå was a typical combination of (sometimes wet) grassy areas and willow bushwhacking, yet finally we moved to a drier terrain above the Rapaselet delta where we established a campsite on a small hillock with nice views.
Unfortunately, the weather slowly began to deteriorate during our afternoon hike, and we got some drizzle and a few rainshowers during our ascent to a small plateau on the slopes of Bielloriehppe, a prominent peak raising abruptly south of Rapaselet.
Yet still, views of Rapaselet and Ráhpaädno from this small plateau were beautiful, especially during a few brief sunny spells.
After two and half days spent in my favourite location in Sarek - the area where Rapadalen and Sarvesvágge meets - time has come to move on.
Given the geography and Kvikkjokk as our return point, there weren't many choices what to do - either to pursue a cruel hike across one of the mountain passes towards Pårek (we did this crossing in the opposite direction couple of years ago), or to opt for bushwhacking on the southern side of Rapaselet/Rapadalen and then pursue a lengthy detour to cross the Gådokjåhkå river using a suspension bridge across it.
The choice was obvious - Rapaselet and Rapadalen.
Counting with the worst, it finally turned out that hiking south of Ráhpaädno wasn't that unpleasant; sure, there were a few bushwhacking willow trees sections and we got pretty wet due to soggy vegetation, however there were also easy sections close to the river with dry sandy riverbed.
After a few hours of hiking we reached the point where we needed to turn to the south, and started to continuously gain elevation on the slopes above the Gådokjåhkå river.
Here we had to cross a few smaller rivers and had some struggle to find a convenient campsite, however finally we found a nice dry place with some decent views.
On the next morning, we continued hiking in the southern direction, finally coming out of the birch forest and getting some nice views of the Rapadalen delta with prominent peaks of Skierffe, Tjahkelij and Nammásj.
The ascent then continued across typical tundra landscape with berries plants and grassy upland sections until we reached the long-awaited suspension bridge across Gådokjåhkå where we had lunch.
A long stretch across the Ijvvárláhko plateau followed, with pleasant dry tundra sections followed by wet grass and dwarf willows. At one point, we had to jump across a deep creek, and were lucky to find a boulder which made that possible.
It was a long walk, and although there were a few camping spots upper in the valley of the Jieggejåhkå river, we pushed it further in a bit of a reckless act since it was already quite late, and as it turned out we had to make it all the way down through the steep valley to find a convenient camping site.
It was a long day, yet the views from our elevated campsite were beautiful - the vast massive of Tjahkelij we were about to ascent on the following day, and beautiful Alep Suobbatjávrre, Lulep Suobbatjávrre and Tjaktjajávrre lakes all contributed to tranquil atmosphere of our camping setting.
The morning into which we woke up was one of those fairy-tale ones; warm, windless, with perfect views, and with beautiful autumn colours all around.
During moments like this, it's sometimes better to enjoy these lovely moments, slow down, have another coffee and just relax rather than to start hiking early. So we took our time here in this serene setting and packed up our camp quite lazily.
From our elevated campsite we were able to design a route for the day quite smoothly; the plan was to gradually descent to Alep Suobbatjávrre lake, summit Tjahkelij (without backpacks), and then hike along its southern slopes to finally reach the Kungsleden trail.
The descent across the coloured berry plants was a delight, yet the deeper we got into the birch forest the more tricky our endeavour became, with frequent wet sections and completely pathless terrain (even no animal tracks).
Luckily, things turned for the better on the slopes on Tjahkelij where the terrain was much drier, and we managed to summit this impressive massif just in time before rain-shower clouds rolled in.
Surprisingly, we met a solo (female) hiker on the top - Skierffe is a far much more visited vantage point, so this was really a surprising yet lovely encounter.
Having descended back to our backpacks, we continued hiking for a few hours in the southeast direction on the foot of the Tjahkelij massive, sometimes being lucky to follow moos tracks.
Finally and in upcoming evening, we reached the beaten Kungsleden highway and pitched our tents at a lovely campsite near a footbridge across the stream flowing out of Lulep Suobbatjávrre lake.
Aurora borealis visited us in the middle of the night for the first time during our trek, and I was happy for Petra, Václav and Martin since it was their first time to witness this magical lightning phenomenon.
So, Kungsleden.
We have covered different parts of this well-beaten trail in the past, and this upland section in the direction towards Kvikkjokk belongs to the most attractive ones, with beautiful views most of the time.
Naturally this only applies till the point where the path immerses into deep woods (just after Favnoajvve) - the forest is beautiful here, however frankly not really comparable with Sarek's magic.
With two and half days still ahead of us, we could afford to take it easy and make a detour - that's why we decided to leave Kungsleden where it drops into the forest and kept gained elevation by hiking in the western direction towards Gállakvárre.
With occasional drizzle and wind gusts we tried to keep moving on the plateau, making a short stop in Jågge day hut to have lunch.
We left Kungsleden where it starts descending towards Pårtestugan huts, and followed reindeer (?) tracks leading in the western direction, keeping the elevation above vast birch woods.
After some effort, we found a beautiful campsite with a small creek nearby just above the tree line, and enjoyed rest of the day taking a rest, now blessed by improved sunny weather.
The evening was magical, peaceful, quiet and warm; one of those perfect moments in the wild, far from civilization and with no one around.
On the following morning and with persisting promising weather, we summited Favnoajvve (1117m), an easy walk not far from our camp offering nice distant views from the mountain top plateau.
Having returned to our campsite, we packed up and continued hiking along the Gallakjåhkå creek in the southern direction, finally joining Kungsleden after some bushwhacking effort.
I knew there is a splendid campsite in a beautiful location at Stuor Dáhtá lake (a small promontory just at the point where Kungsleden leaves the lake) - luckily there was no one occupying this beautiful spot, which meant our last evening and night in the wild were perfect again.
I've hiked on Kungsleden between Stuor Dáhtá and Kvikkjokk at least three times and got quite fed up; luckily, good company compensated for otherwise rather boring last-miles walk.
We spent a few hours in the cosy STF Kvikkjokk Fjällstation, enjoying lunch and a few beers while waiting for our pre-arranged taxi to pick us up.
Overnight train journey from Murjek to Stockholm with subsequent morning flight to Prague followed.
It was my 4th time in Sarek, for Martin his 2nd, and a premiere for Petra, Václav and (another) Martin. We did it well and managed what we planned, despite the constantly changing weather (which may not be seen from the photographs and is something to count with when in the park).
To pick up one thing, summiting Tielma and a day walk across its mountain plateau was a highlight, especially given the beautiful sunny weather later during that day.
COVID-19 pandemic had certainly impact on number of visitors; Kungsleden, which usually is an international trail, became purely Swedish, and those few souls we met (or better said, saw from a distance) in Sarek contributed to more deserted moods than in previous trips (which, in fact, was also thanks to our routing avoiding the most usual Sarek routes).
The Sarek map I have in my library has got pretty worn over the years, yet it's still a pleasure to "read" it once more and design potential new routes.
© 2026 Northern Adventures
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