Kiruna Area, anything else than Kungsleden?

[tiantian]

Hi. I will arrive with my girlfriend 21. july 13:15 at Kiruna airport. We will depart 30. july 10:30 from the same airport. Now I try to fill this time with a nice trek.
First I thought about Kungsleden from Abisko to Vakkotavare. We could take the bus from Airport at 14:00 to Abisko and walk to the first camping place on the first day. Then we should be in Vakkotavare on Monday or Tuesday, take a bus to Gällivare, than a bus or train back to Kiruna.
I guess the Kungsleden will be very busy that time of the year and we normally like to be in areas where we can walk some hours without seeing anybody. So may the Kungsleden is not the best idea for us. What else we can do with the time we have in that area, you have any idea for us?

 

[uffe_nordholm]

An easy option would be to follow Kungsleden, but not stay on it, but parallell to it, a few kilometers to one side of it. The chance you would meet someone is much smaller then when following Kunsleden itself. Doing this would mean you need to bring a tent, and it might mean you have to walk further than if you followed Kungsleden.

 

[tiantian]

We will take a tent and all the food we need anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem. But is it so easy to walk a few kilometer next to it? Just checked the map, not sure if there will e stream or mountains than we couldnt pass.

 

[uffe_nordholm]

It might not be possible to walk parallell to Kungsleden in all places, so you might end up following Kungsleden itself, or crossing it, or parting from it quite a lot.

How far are you willing to travel to avoid other people? When I was in Padjelanta (in 1995) we didn't meet anyone outside our little group other than the first and last two days, of a ten day hike.

 

[smux]

Hi, we walked the opposite direction between Vakkotavare and Abisko last summer. It's a full 8 days trek providing decent weather if you follow Kungsleden. You will find that Kungsleden between Singi and Vakkotavare is much less populated than north of Singi.
My recommendation from a scenic and less populated route is to go:
Abisko-Alesjaure-Vistas-Nallo-Sälka-Singi-Kaitumjaure-Teausajaure-Vakkotavare
This may however add an extra day compared to the option of following Kungsleden all the way.

One challenge might be the passing of Teusajaure which can be difficult or even impossible in very windy conditions.

 

[kjpil]

Hi. I will arrive with my girlfriend 21. july 13:15 at Kiruna airport. We will depart 30. july 10:30 from the same airport. Now I try to fill this time with a nice trek.
First I thought about Kungsleden from Abisko to Vakkotavare. We could take the bus from Airport at 14:00 to Abisko and walk to the first camping place on the first day. Then we should be in Vakkotavare on Monday or Tuesday, take a bus to Gällivare, than a bus or train back to Kiruna.
I guess the Kungsleden will be very busy that time of the year and we normally like to be in areas where we can walk some hours without seeing anybody. So may the Kungsleden is not the best idea for us. What else we can do with the time we have in that area, you have any idea for us?

Another option is to hike in sarek, with that timeschedule you will have sevral options that is nice and scenic for a hike.

 

[Patrik_L]

If I were you, I'd start in Nikkaluokta and head for Ritsem passing Hukejaure and Sitasjaure on the way - or the other way round... After passing the freeway (AKA Kungsleden) you'll be all alone. From Ritsem you can take the bus to Gällivare and from there back to Kiruna.

 

[veni]

I would take the scenic train from Kiruna to Katterat and start the hike down to Ritsem:

Day 1, Hunddalshytta, there are 2 options: to Lossi - Cunojavrihytta or the easier hike
Day 2, through Oallavaggi to Unna Allaka or direct to Cunojavri
Day 3, Unna Allaka – Cunojavrihytta (short distance)
Day 4, Cunojavrihytta - Cainavaggihytta
Day 5, Cainavaggihytta - Gautelishytta
Day 6, Gautelishytta - Hukejaurehytta (passing the Ivarsten)
Day 7, Hukejaurehytta - Sitashytta
Day 8, Sitashytta – Ritsem (this distance can be done by car)
Since you have a tent you don`t need to follow this suggestion accurately. You will pass the border Sweden / Norway several times.
Have a nice hike!

 

[tiantian]

Thank you very much! Wouldnt be so easy to get on the train to Abisko/Katterat in time. We arrive at 13:15, the bus to town will may depart 13:45 or 14:00. Then we can't be at the new train station at 14:39 when the train depart. Would only be possible with a taxi and thats expensive (Also my girlfriend is chinese, I don't know if she is allowed to cross the border to norway with a schengen visa).
Starting in Nikkaluokta would be a better fitting with public transport as the bus is starting at 14:50 at Kiruna bus station. So we also would have a couple of minutes to bring our fresh clothes to the hotel we booked for the last night before the return flight.
Btw. is there any way to get a discount on the prices of the busses? The train seems to be always cheaper than the bus.

 

[Åke L]

I have no comments about public transport, but crossing the border should be the least of your worries. No checkpoints or fences in the mountains!

 

[tiantian]

Sure no checkpoint in the mountains, but it would still may be a illegal activity and I guess they will have a checkpoint in the train/trainstation?

 

[Åke L]

If you start and end your hike in Sweden no one will ever know if you have crossed into Norway at some point., nor will anyone ask! The only controls of this border is extremely rare checks by customs at road crossings looking for smugglers.