Kungsleden is a hiking trail in the very north of Sweden. It’s about 400 km long and many people hike it whole in one go. However, it consists of 4 distinct parts, 2 of which have huts, as they call them, or cottages along the way, 15-25 km apart, where you can stay for the night. That is what I did – hiking alone, I had no desire to carry a tent and all the cooking equipment on my back. My backpack was heavy enough as it was. So, my choice, when I decided to do my summer hiking trip, was among those two parts.
Let’s start with some useful information. The most northern part of Kungsleden (Abisko to Nikkaluokta) is the most popular, but also, to my taste, the most beautiful. I hiked it later as well, and you can read about it here.
The next part, a little bit down to the south (but still considered north) is Saltoluokta to Kvikkjokk and that’s was the one I went for my first hike along Kungsleden, I’m going to talk about it here. Why did I choose it? This part still has the huts along the way, yet it is much less crowded than the northern one and still gorgeous.
There are 3 huts (Sitojaure, Aktse, and Pårte) along the way, and 2 large Swedish Tourist organization stations (Saltoluokta and Kvikkjokk). I arrived to Saltoluokta by the night train (and bus) and started hiking straight away. Then I spent nights at Sitojaure hut, Aktse hut (2 nights, I’ll explain why later), Pårte hut, and the last night at Kvikkjokk station.
Let me describe what a ‘hut’ is. There are smaller and larger ones. There is always the main building, consisting of a kitchen and sleeping quarters (with bunk beds), toilets outside, the house of a host (or hosts, who live there during the season and take care of everything). Larger ones (in this part it’s Aktse) have a small shop. There is NO ELECTRICITY, so if you have a bunch of cameras, like me, you need to carry power banks. However, kitchens have gas and all necessary stuff (plates, cups, kettles, cooking appliances, etc). No running water, however, so you need to bring clean water in a bucket from a lake or a river, and then take the dirty water away. People staying in usually join forces – someone brings water, someone takes it away. There is a stove and you can dry your clothes (trust me you need it) around it. Huts at the Northern part usually have special drying rooms. In the evening you use candles (provided) 🙂
When you’re staying the night you get a bed with a pillow and a blanket. However, you must bring your own bedsheets. Some people just sleep in their sleeping bags on the bed. I brought a sleeping bag liner, superlight, like 200 g, since it was summer and I expected to get a blanket. And a pillowcase. Totally recommend everyone to do the same – no extra weight, no extra space in the backpack.
If you don’t want to carry too much food, you can buy it at Aktse, which is a rather large ‘hut’.
Now, you need to pay for staying in the hut. Usually, you don’t need to book. However, I travelled in 2019, and booking in advance was mandatory because of corona. 450 SEK (around 55$) a night. Booking is at the webpage of Swedish Tourist Organization, here. Go to ‘Accommodation’
Now, some general info, before I go into the details of my journey. Huts are open July-September and March-April (for example 2021: 5/3-18/4, 24/6-19/9). Here you can see the most/least popular times. I travelled in the last week of July and the trail was pretty empty. Most of the time I was quite alone on the trail, meeting 10ish people at the huts.
I stayed an extra day at Aktse hut because I wanted to have some extra time to see the view on the left, from the top of Skierfe. You can combine it with the hike Sitojaure-Aktse, which I did in the end because of the weather forecast. But it’s nice to have an extra day because the weather might be pretty bad.
Keep in mind that you need to cross two lakes here. You can either do it on a motorboat (see prices and conditions here, Swedish only) or rowing yourself. Don’t do the rowing, the lakes (or rivers) are pretty huge. The motorboats go twice a day (9 am and 5 pm). It’s very convenient to travel from north to south because Sitojaure and Aktse huts are situated on the northern banks. So, you wake up in the morning and board the boat at 9 am, then you do the hiking. If you go from the south, you need to time your hike to be by the lake at 5 pm.
The path is quite muddy and dirty. My hiking boots were of the trainers type, so I had water in all the time. It rains quite often in the north, so higher hiking boots would be a better choice.
While I’m at it, let me tell you what I had with me in my backpack and advice you to have
- Face/head mosquito net will save you a lot of grief! Especially if you hike in summer, there is an unbelievable amount of mosquitoes close to the lakes. They seriously drove me mad. And mosquito spray, of course. They disappear in autumn, however.
- Bed linen for the huts, as mentioned above.
- Power banks. No electricity, remember! Since I had my drone and two cameras, I actually carried 3 (these were the heaviest things in my backpack) – 30000 mAh, 20000 mAh, and 10000 mAh. To be fair, I haven’t used all of them. But mostly since it was raining a lot, so I wasn’t using my drone as much as I expected. But it was nice to have them for my phone and headphones.
- Headlamp! It’s difficult to cook with the candlelight in the huts. A headlight helps a lot! Also, if you don’t get to a hut before sunset…
- I had noodles with me for food. Also nuts and dry fruits. I have to say, I mostly considered the weight of the food. I also contained myself to breakfasts and dinners only, hiking the rest of the day. So, I brought a lot of energy bars to munch along the way. Keep in mind, that you can buy extra food at Aktse hut. Also, sometimes other travellers leave their extra food in huts’ cupboards!
- Water bottle. All the streams have drinkable water, there are lots of them, so you don’t need much. But it’s nice to carry some with you. A thermos with some tea is great, especially when you travel in the fall and it’s cold enough.
- Raincoat! Trust me, it will rain at least half of the time. If you’re lucky. I had a biking poncho raincoat. It was awesome. I looked ridiculous, but it covered me with my huge 40 l backpack, and down to my knees. So in the evening, when people were drying their stuff, I was wearing my dry pyjamas 🙂
- Audiobooks to listen to 🙂
- Something to sit on if you’re having a break.
- Towel, some toiletries.
- Extra trousers, extra shirt, something to sleep in. Socks.
- Hiking pole/stick! Trust me, it helps so much! I had one and used it mostly to keep my balance, since the track is often slippery, or muddy, or covered in stones.
The way is marked quite well, no way to lose it. The only ‘tough’ place I had was when I hiked to the top of Skierfe. Quite close to going up the top you cross a stream, the whole place is really stony, so it’s horrible to find the way, especially back. So, keep in mind to note the way carefully when you go up. It was raining and quite windy when I walked back, so that might have affected the difficulty.
Now, a word on how I got to the starting point. I live in Uppsala (Sweden) so I took the night train that goes from Stockholm, then changed to a bus in the morning, the bus takes you to a little ferry, and finally – you are in Saltoluokta.
You can find the timetables and buy tickets (for all the way train+bus) at sj.se Personally I use thair up. However, you can also take a flight to Kiruna and then take the bus.
And now, to the journey.
Day 1. My ferry brought me to Saltoluokta around 11 am on the first day. It’s a large STF tourist station, which means you can stay with comfort (shower, electricity) and just hike around. I didn’t stay there, however. Just had a cup of tea in the cafe and started on my hike to Sitojaure. The distance is 20 km, so, you should give it 5-7 hours. I’m really slow since I spend half of the time taking pictures, flying my drone, then realizing that the night is coming and I should hurry up 😀
This part is more or less flat apart from a short climb at the very beginning. My main problem was that it had been raining for 2 weeks before I came so the track was muddy and wet. I was trying to keep my feet dry, which slowed me down a lot. If you have good (high) waterproof hiking boots you’ll be much faster.
I wasn’t stopping for eating, I usually just munch on an energy bar and have some water 🙂 I enjoy walking and listening to an audiobook, taking pictures. The views were amazing on the first day, especially at the beginning of the trail, as you ascend the mountain and look back.
I think I got to the STF hut about 7 pm, but I was reeeally slow taking too many pictures. The was an emergency hut halfway. The emergency hut is a small cottage where you can stay in the case of an emergency, or to hide from the wind for a bit. It has a stove, but the wood (which is kept in a shack) must be used in the case of emergency only. There’s also a table and some benches. I haven’t used them during my summer hike since it was warm enough (around +10 C during the night, +20ish during the day), but I did use them when I hiked in autumn for a short break of the freezing wind.
I was lucky with my first day, got a tiny bit of rain only. As you approach the STF hut (which is situated by the lake) you meet the mosquitoes for the first time. And the amount of them is just maddening! I was so happy to have my head mosquito net with me!
Sitojaure hut is rather small, with one main building only, no shop. You get the water from the lake. The host allocates you a sleeping place. Since it was still the low season, I actually got a small room to myself! All the huts have mosquito nets on the windows, so at least you can sleep well. I had a dinner of noodles and Reese’s I brought with me, had a chat with the other occupants (which is one of the perks of staying in the huts), set my shoes to dry next to the stove and went to bed (not much to do without light).
Day 2. Here is one of the lakes you need to cross. However, there is a motorboat at 9 am (you need cash for it!). The boat starts 300 m away from the hut. I had my leisurely breakfast, washed my face in the lake (you can also swim there, but at the end of July the water was still around +10 degrees, and I’m not a fan of cold water, and mosquitos are mad 🙂 ), and got to the motorboat. It’s a really long cross, so I totally DO NOT advice to row it!
My plan for this day was to walk to the next hut (Aktse, 13 km) and then hike a bit around it. There is an awesome viewpoint at the top of Skierfe mountain 7ish km away from Aktse, so, initially, I planned to hike there on the next, third day (you can see the view from Skierfe and the hike to it in the pictures above). I had to change my plan, however. The host of the Sitojaure hut told me (they have a satellite phone or something) that it’s gonna rain on my third day, which would totally ruin the view from the top. So, I decided to hike to Aktse but then take a detour to Skirfe in one day (hence I made 26is km on that day).
The hike to Aktse is more or less flat. There is only one place in the middle where you need to go uphill (there was a cool glacier by it 🙂 ). The view on that day was beautiful, especially when you go down to Aktse and have all the Rapadalen in front of you!
You need to turn to Skierfe 40ish minutes before you reach Aktse (which is what I did, trying not to waste time going down to the hut and coming back). I wouldn’t say the path is very hard, but you’ll be going up for some time. The path is well-marked at the beginning but marked extremely badly in its last part (when the ground becomes stony). Keep that in mind and note the way you came (either in your head or on the map)! The day was really good and sunny up to about half an hour till the top (bad luck 🙁 ) when it started raining. I almost decided to go back, but I’m too stubborn for it 🙂 Finding the way up (in the last half hour) isn’t easy because it marked really badly. Luckily a group of guys overtook me at that point and I just followed in their footsteps. It’s not extremely steep, you don’t need to climb. When I got to the top, it was almost covered in the clouds (see on the right), I missed the perfect view so narrowly… Well, the view was still gorgeous!
It would be a great place to sit down and have a picknic, but I had to turn back because of the rain. Here was the least favourite part of my trip – I got a bit lost. I knew the general direction well, but couldn’t find that nice way made of stones I used to cross the stream, and my trainers were not supposed to be used to step into the water 🙁 So, really, note the way you came from well!
The way back was really disgusting because of the rain. Also, the area just off Kungsleden, when you turn to Skierfe, it horribly muddy, full of water, and just gross. Someone told me later that I should have tried to go a bit above the main track to avoid the dirt, so that might be a good hint. But, (especially if you hike after a period of rain, as I did) this part is very bad.
I reached the hut around 7-8 pm. So, I would say you don’t even have to take that extra day for going up to Skierfe, you can fit it in 1 day. But it will be a looooot of walking 🙂 And, if you’re hiking Kungsleden, don’t miss the chance to hike up! As you’re getting close to the lake (the hut is by the lake), mosquitoes go mad!
Aktse hut has a small shop. I bought some food as soon as I arrived which was a nice change from noodles 🙂 It’s a larger hut. It has a shower, but with horribly cold water in it 🙂 It was also great to dry my shoes next to the fire since they were full of water after the dirty path…
Day 3. That day was rather boring since, first, my plan was to go up Skierfe and that had been done already, and, second, it was raining buckets and the whole area was covered in a cloud.
Hence, I spent the day walking back in the direction I came from the day before. It was quite spooky and atmospheric to walk in the fog, not being able to see much far ahead… It was, however, a good thing to half a half-break day here.
One cool thing about staying in the huts, I should mention, is meeting all kinds of cool people. It’s hikers from everywhere, trail runners, hikers spending months on the road… It’s just very nice to have a chat in the evening.
It the afternoon I was chatting with a gentleman who had a boat tour booked for the next day. It was booked just with the people in the shop. Btw, that’s a second place which requires taking a boat to the other side of the lake/river. So, what you can do, is taking a boat tour in the morning, then you’re left on the other side around noon, and can continue walking. I got very excited (which is what happens to me all the time 🙂 ) and signed up for the boat tour.
Day 4. The boat tour was not the best idea on that specific morning. Don’t get me wrong, it’s supposed to be beautiful (it’s a tour in that valley I’ve seen the day before from the top of Skierfe). However, on that day it was freezing and raining buckets…
So, I totally advise you to take the boat tour. But check the forecast first 🙂 This day was the most trying of all. I started my walk around noon (after the tour) and the distance I had to make till the next hut was 24 km. And it was raining most of it. It’s also the most uneven part of the trail – you go up the mountain first (the view at the top is stupendous), suffering from those crazy mosquitos. Luckily, mosquitos disappear at the top 🙂 Then, the ground becomes quite rocky, and that’s the most difficult walking terrain… After that, that last half is the way downhill. Dirty, slippery, insufferable during the rain. But the walk in the middle, on top of the mountain, is breathtaking! Totally worth all the suffering! But suffer you will 🙂
It was a very long, long, long, long day indeed. I got to the hut around 8 pm and was completely knackered. The mosquitoes were there in their full power. But some strange people actually did some swimming in the lake:)
Day 5. The last day of my trip. And since the distance was 16 km only I started leisurely around 9 am. This part of the hike is primarily inside the forest, so the view isn’t so great (I mean in comparison to the previous days).
And I have to admit to being quite tired by this day already, so I was really slow, but also wasn’t stopping that much for taking pictures. An audiobook is what saves me on such days 🙂 Lord of the rings on that trip 🙂
By 3ish pm I got to my final destination, Kvikkjokk STF station (I had some cool things on the next day too 😉 ). Here I rented a private room (booked in advance) with a shared shower. Taking the shower felt like a paradise. You need to hike for 4 days to realise what heavenly experience a shower can be 😀
In the evening I treated myself to a nice dinner in the station’s restaurant. It’s quite expensive, be ready for that, but feels amazing after 4 days of noodles 🙂 You can also try some local specialities like reindeer meat (I sorry, my dear vegetarians) etc.
The whole stay at Kvikkjokk Fjällstation is quite expensive for what you get for it (it’s like a hostel with shared showers and wc), but after 5 days of wilderness, it feels like it’s worth it 🙂
Day 6. I was planning to hike around the station that day until the bus would take me back to the train station. That plan was altered most amazingly!
As I was having my breakfast (so happy to have awakened early for my hike!) a gentleman came over, the one who had told me about a boat tour that I took. Remembering me being happy to take a tour on the spot, he suggested I share a helicopter fare with him and two other travellers he found. He gave me a bit of time to think and it took me about 3 min to decide on yes 🙂 Contemplating the astonishing price and yet not being able to miss a chance to see my trail from above 🙂
Hence, I packed hastily, checked out, left my backpack by the hotel (the storage room war promised but not offered) and joint the other 3. The helicopter place was about 20-30 min away (here is their webpage). And in about 30 min it took us all the way bach to Aktse! It was so fun to see my hiking trail from above! The view was breathtaking (check the pictures)!
I decided not to do my hikes after (attempted, but the tracks were so full of water and I didn’t fancy taking the buss and the train with my shoes wet) … Walked around a bit, had a coffee at the hotel, boarded the bus, then the night train, and was back at Uppsala at 8 am next day…
