Sarek National Park
Sarek National Park is located just a 1-2½ hour drive from Jokkmokk Town, depending on which part of Sarek you will visit. Sarek is a circular park with an average diameter of about 50 kilometers. The park has no marked trails, no accommodation and only two bridges. Furthermore, the area is among the most rainy in Sweden, which makes hiking dependent on the weather condition at the time. It is also not uncommon to encounter streams that are hard and dangerous to wade across without proper experience. The Rapa River Delta is considered one of Europe's most beautiful and the summit of mount Skierffe offers an incredible view of this ice covered trough valley.
Sarek houses a number of mountains over 2,000 meters and 6 of Sweden's 13 highest peaks are located inside the boundaries of the park. Among these, is the second highest mountain in Sweden, Sarektjåkkå.
There are around 100 glaciers in Sarek National Park. Sometimes the massif of Mt. Ahkka, located just north from Sarek National Park, is also included in the geographical region of Sarek, which makes the number of 2,000 meter peaks inside the park total 8 instead of 6. The park also houses around 200 peaks that reach 1,800 meters or higher. Due to the long walk up, the mountains are seldom climbed.
At 1,800 meters above sea-level, you will find the Pårte observatory, built in the early 1900's by the efforts of Axel Hamberg. The construction materials were transported on the backs of workers due to the mountainous terrain. Together with a few other national parks in Sweden, Sarek National Park is the oldest national park in Europe (1909-1910).
