Focus on Swedish Lapland

A Place of Enchantment

Swedish Lapland is a truly enchanting place. From the mountain ranges in the west — stretching from Abisko south to the country’s tallest mountain, Kebnekaise, and beyond — to the rolling, forested hills in the east, this region will leave you constantly in awe.

(Note: Sweden does not have an official administrative region called “Lapland” like Finland, its neighbour to the east. It has a historical “province” called Lapland, but this region does not match with the area that calls itself Lapland today. The region described here informally covers Norrbotten county — Norrbottens län — the country’s northernmost county, as well as parts of Västerbotten to its south.)

A Place of Extremes

Lapland’s wide open spaces and seemingly endless wilderness completely transform between seasons, leaving return visitors wondering if they are even in the same place.

In winter, the region is blanketed in a never-ending swathe of snow, turning rivers, lakes and forests into giant playgrounds for dogsledders, snowmobilers, and cross-country skiers alike. Some of those rivers and lakes even provide the building blocks for full hotels made completely of ice and snow.

A Place to Commune with Nature

In summer, Lapland becomes a hikers’ paradise, with many visitors undertaking parts — or all — of the famous Kungsleden track.

Those hikers really could have no better place to walk in summer than the Arctic Circle. Not only are the temperatures great for walking — usually hovering around 20º, although occasionally peaking at a very summery 30º — but the season also offers the never-ending light of the midnight sun.

In a place like Abisko, a popular walking destination, the sun will circle the sky 56 times (between 25 May and 19 July) without ever finding the horizon.

A Place of Polar Night

The fact that the summer offers so much sun is very much offset in winter, when the majority of Lapland will experience polar night — the time where the sun never rises.

This doesn’t mean that everything stays pitch black all day, every day though. Instead, the whole region is bathed in a bluish twilight for a few hours in the middle of the day; it’s a magical time like nothing else you have ever experienced.

A Place Where The Northern Lights Dance

While polar night does not last for the entirety of winter (six months of darkness would be an awful long time!) another light phenomenon — the aurora borealis — does. Its pink, green, and gold colours light up Lapland’s skies between September and early April ever year, often leaving both locals and visitors alike in awe.

It’s an unforgettable experience, and since Lapland offers more stable weather than other popular winter destinations, it also offers a higher chance of having this experience on your trip.

What You Should Know

Currency: Swedish kronor (kr)
Time Zone: CET (Central European Time) – GMT+1.
Daylight Savings time from March-October – GMT+2
1 hour behind Finland
Drives on: Right
Latitudes: Roughly 64º 45’ to 68º 25′ N
Size: 98,000 km² in Norrbotten, around 1/4 of Sweden
Population: 250,000
Around 2.5 people per km² and only 2.6% of Sweden’s population
Sámi Population: Between 17,000-20,000
Reindeer Population: Between 200,000 and 300,000
Largest City: Luleå (~47,000 residents)
Northernmost Town: Kiruna (~18,100 residents)
“Capital of Sami culture”: Jokkmokk (~2,800 residents)
Borders: Norway (west & north), Finland (east)
Visas: Standard Schengen visa regulations apply.
There are no border checks at the borders with Norway and Finland.
Seasons (names vary):

• Polar night (Nov-Jan)
• Midwinter (Jan-Feb)
• Late Winter (Mar-Apr)
• Spring (May)
• Summer (June-July)
• Harvest (August-Sept)
• Autumn Colour (Sept-Oct)
• First Snow/Early Winter (October-November)

Longest period of polar night (in Riksgränsen): 6 December – 7 January (32 days)
Shortest period of polar night (on the Arctic Circle): 1 day, 21 December
Longest period of midnight sun (in Riksgränsen): 24 May – 19 July (56 days)
Shortest period of midnight sun (in Jokkmokk): 1 day, 20 June