Our plan for the day was to explore Abisko National Park and, more specifically, we had spotted a small and impressive Abiskoeatnu canyon and the Laktajakk waterfall, which, while not part of the national park, is located very nearby.
Abisko National Park is located in Swedish Lapland, close to the Norwegian border, only about 40 kilometers from the border, and is a popular tourist destination year-round.
Abiskoeatnu – Abisko Canyon
Abiskoeatnu canyon is one of the most easily accessible sights in Abisko National Park and is definitely worth a stop. The short, 1.6-kilometer easy trail is located right next to the visitor center, Abisko Turiststation, which also has plenty of parking spaces.
The trail begins along a winding, boardwalk-lined path that creates a nice atmosphere and leads towards the canyon. The path around the canyon itself is an easy-to-walk trail with spectacular views of the Abiskojรฅkka River flowing below, which leads to the nearby Tornetrรคsk Lake.
At the beginning, you reach the start of the canyon where the water flows powerfully through a tunnel built to pass under the adjacent railway and road. Although the trail is short, we spent quite a bit of time leisurely admiring the scenery.
The terrain above the canyon is nicely mossy with low trees, typical of the northern landscape, and very atmospheric with the surrounding fells.
There are many beautiful spots along the trail where you can take out your camera or simply admire the canyon’s vertical cliffs and the crystal-clear river where you can even see the bottom stones through the water.
Along the trail, there is also a picnic table where you can have a pleasant snack in the beautiful scenery, and the canyon is crossed by a sturdy, though slightly rusty, bridge from which you can admire the canyon from the middle.
It is definitely a recommended stop, whether for a short or longer visit, but you should definitely stop. Its easy accessibility allows for a quick stop if desired, and the beginning of the trail already offers nice views, but we highly recommend walking the entire loop.
Laktajakk Waterfall
From Kungsleden, we headed towards the Laktajakk waterfall, which is about 25 kilometers towards Norway. There is a parking lot nearby, which you can find here. From the parking lot, you have to walk about a kilometer back along the road to where the actual trail starts towards the waterfall, the trail itself is approximately 0.5-1 kilometer, so the total round trip is about 3-4 kilometers.
Initially, the trail runs through lush terrain, then leads along the Loktajohka River. Along the way, there is also an abandoned-looking rest area and an outhouse without a roof, so at least the ventilation works well ๐. At this point, the river is also crossed by a small old bridge, but we recommend walking the entire way along the left side of the river, which leads to the best spot below the waterfall. You also have to cross a railway track, where naturally you need to be cautious. The railway is in use and very long freight trains pass by.
The trail is clear and easy to follow at the beginning, but towards the end, there are more challenging parts where the path is quite muddy and ascends through rocky terrain. However, it is easy to follow the route by just continuing along the riverbank.
Good shoes are recommended, but we managed just fine in sneakers.
When we arrived, the scenery was absolutely stunning! The majestic waterfall roars right in front of your eyes, and the mist from the falls provides a refreshing touch, especially since we were lucky to have a sunny day for our visit. It’s definitely worth the small effort to hike to the waterfall, truly impressive!
From here, we continued our journey towards Norway, which was only about ten kilometers to the border. We’ll continue from the Norwegian side in the next post.
Swedish Lapland was completely unknown to us, and we had no expectations for it, but overall it surprised us very positively. Especially the Abisko area near the Norwegian border was an incredibly beautiful area.
