Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [234]
STF Vandrarhem Storvallen/Storlien (700 50; dm Skr175, s/d from Skr265/700), 600m off the E14 about 4.5km east of Storlien, provides top-quality accommodation in simple dorm rooms with warm, wood-panelled common areas, a good restaurant (there’s also a guest kitchen) and good hiking advice. It’s also an ideal place from which to launch a hut-to-hut hiking trip.
Le Ski (dagens lunch Skr74, mains around Skr125), at Hotel Storlien, is a friendly pub with bar food and a great patio for summer dining. Try the ‘Bullfighterribs’. There’s a supermarket (9am-6pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun) with attached cafe as you enter the village, next to a weird little shop that sells trolls.
Storlien is the terminus for SJ trains – change here for Norwegian trains to Hell and Trondheim.
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HÄRJEDALEN
This is the least populated of Sweden’s counties, but that just means fewer people to get in the way of its spectacular views. Härjedalen is a wilderness of forest, lake and mountain in the west, and forest, lake and marsh in the east. The rugged mountain scenery in the far northwest is breathtaking. The lack of substantial population centres in the region means it’s best to organise your visit by activity rather than by town.
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FUNÄSDALEN & AROUND
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Funäsdalen is a small, narrow village arranged along a single road – because that’s the only place flat enough to be accessible when the area is buried in snow for half the year. Dominated by the impressive peak Funäsdalsberget, the village and surrounding area are popular with hikers, skiers and other outdoor sports enthusiasts – understandably, as the landscape is vast and varied.
The tourist office (155 80; Rörosvägen 30; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri May–mid-Jun; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri & 10am-6pm Sat & Sun mid-Jun–Sep; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri & 10am-2pm Sat Oct-Nov), inside the Fjällmuseum, will book accommodation in the area if you’re stuck (Skr50 fee). A supermarket, petrol station, cafes and lodgings are on Rörosvägen, the main road through town.
Sights & Activities
Härjedalens Fjällmuseum (164 10; adult/child Skr80/free) has displays covering the Sami, local farmers and miners, and includes the Fornminnesparken outdoor section.
Forestry agency Naturum (242 00; 9am-9pm mid-Jun–Aug, 9am-4pm Mon-Fri Dec-Apr) has an office and information centre 15km south at Tännäs Fiskecentrum. It sits at the edge of the Rogen Nature Reserve, and has brochures about the geology of the area (including moraine ridges) and the local musk ox. Naturum also sells maps and all kinds of outdoor sporting equipment, from fishing lures to bug spray. A pamphlet mapping several easy local walks costs Skr10. Boat hire (Skr100 to Skr200 per day) is available.
A short drive from the Naturum office, the landscape transforms into a series of linked pools and lakes, and you can canoe across the border into Norway. Canoes can be rented in Käringsjön village, but be sure to pick up maps and information and double-check your list of supplies at Naturum first. The office also sells fishing licences. Excellent hiking can be found in the reserve, but it’s better accessed from Grövelsjön in Dalarna.
There’s a golf course in Ljusnedal, just east of town.
For skiing, head to Ramundberget (20km north of Funäsdalen) and Tänndalen (12km west), which offer both downhill and nordic sections. Between them, they comprise 24 ski lifts and 75 runs, and the 300km of cross-country trails constitute the longest ski system in the world.
If you have your own transport, it’s worth the haul to the village of Ljungdalen (www.ljungdalen.com), about 40km north of