Fulufjället National Park

Fulufjället National Park, Sweden

Njupeskär waterfall plunging into a steep sandstone gorge during golden hour in Fulufjället National Park.

Fulufjället National Park gives southern Sweden a bare mountain plateau, old forest and a 93 m waterfall, all reached on foot from one car park.

The place

Fulufjället National Park sits in Dalarna, in central Sweden, about 25 km south-west of the small town of Särna. It protects the Swedish side of a high plateau whose top reaches 1,044 m, and its 385 km² all lie inside Älvdalen Municipality. Across the border, Norway protects its own share of the same massif as a separate park. This is the southernmost mountain terrain of the Scandes in Sweden, which makes it the mountain park nearest to most Swedes. The summit area is open and bare, a patchwork of lichen, grass and low brush. Reindeer have never grazed this ground, which gives the heaths a character found nowhere else in the Scandinavian mountains. Rivers have cut deep valleys into the plateau, and in those clefts dense old-growth forest has survived. Their water feeds the Dalälven, one of the big rivers of the region. Brown bear and Eurasian lynx live here, though sightings are rare and nobody should plan a day around one. Birdwatchers come for the Siberian jay, a bold, sociable bird that is the park's emblem and happily inspects any picnic. Most visitors head for Njupeskär, a waterfall with a total drop of 93 m, of which 70 m is free fall. The main entrance, car park and visitor centre sit close to it, and about 140 km of marked trails fan out from there. The park was created in 2002.

Its story

Fulufjället's human story is written lightly. Once the ice withdrew from the mountain, Stone Age hunter-gatherers moved through, leaving little more than a few relics, among them a stone axe found near the river Fulan. They kept no fixed settlement, and that pattern held until the Iron Age. The best-known traces from that era are four burial cairns on the north-eastern plateau, about 2 km south-east of Njupeskär. No others are recorded anywhere in the province, and the graves held arrowheads and spears. Nearby is the Altarringen, an oval stone wall about 5 m across with an altar at its centre; repeated restoration makes it hard to date. The Swedish side has been studied far less than the Norwegian one, so much remains uncertain. Permanent farms probably reached the valleys of the massif before the year 1000, as settlers spread out from areas around Mora. Särna, Heden and Idre likely grew up around the hunting of wild reindeer, whose products were traded across Europe. A modern chapter began in 1997, when a great storm flattened forest near the waterfall, and the damage can still be seen. In September 2002 King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the park before a crowd of a few thousand, and it became an early member of the PAN Parks network, which set out to pair conservation with tourism.

What to see

Culture

Fulufjället National Park belongs to Dalarna, a province that many Swedes regard as the heartland of their folk traditions, with painted wooden Dala horses, midsummer celebrations and fiddle music. The mountains themselves have a quieter culture. For generations, people from villages such as Särna, Heden and Idre hunted wild reindeer and traded the products far afield, and the forest still supplies game, berries and mushrooms to local tables. Sweden's tradition of public access lets people walk and pick berries on most open land, but a national park adds its own rules, which are set out on signs and on the park website. The park was created in 2002 and is run with visitors in mind: marked trails and a visitor centre guide walkers along set routes so that the fragile lichen heath is not trampled. Local people tend to be reserved and direct, and a friendly nod on the trail is the usual greeting. Summer brings Swedish and German families in particular, while winter draws a smaller crowd of skiers and snowshoers. Dry spells raise the risk of forest fire, and rangers set the rules on the day. Stay on the marked paths across the lichen heath, carry out all your rubbish, and light a fire only where the park signs say it is allowed.

What to wear

Fulufjället National Park has no dress code of its own, so the traditional reference point is Dalarna's folk costume, the folkdräkt. It varies from parish to parish, but women's versions usually combine a wool skirt, a bodice, an apron and a white linen blouse, often with a cap or kerchief, in colours that differ by village. Men wear knee breeches, waistcoats and wool jackets. Wool and linen are the traditional textiles, often woven and embroidered at home. These outfits appear at midsummer, weddings, church festivals and folk music gatherings, not on the trails. Day to day, people in the area dress for the weather: waterproof shell jackets, wool or fleece mid-layers and sturdy boots, and hiking clothes pass without comment in a village shop or café. For a visit, bring layers. The plateau is exposed and can feel cold even in summer, while sheltered valleys can be warm and buggy, so a light long-sleeved top and insect repellent help. Waterproof boots with good grip suit the wet rock near the waterfall and boggy ground elsewhere. Add a hat and gloves outside midsummer, and insulated boots and thermal layers in winter. No site here asks for covered shoulders or knees, so modesty norms are relaxed.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. June to September for walking, when trails are clear and the days are long. July and August are busiest, since most visits fall in summer; early autumn is quieter. Winter brings snow, a frozen waterfall, short days and serious cold.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly to Mora airport, which has daily flights from Stockholm, or take a train (SJ or Tåg i Bergslagen) to the nearest mainline station. The last leg is by road towards Särna, and a car is much the easiest way to reach the park's main entrance. Check Resrobot for public transport options, and the official site, http://www.sverigesnationalparker.se/park/fulufjallets-nationalpark/, for current access.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources