Kungsleden

Climate

The summer season lasts from June to mid-August. Until mid-July, the day continues uninterrupted in the northernmost part of the trail (polar day), later the nights are bright until the end of August. Autumn usually begins with the end of August with rain and sometimes snow. The trail is considered as possible to pass from the beginning of June to the end of September, sometimes longer if the weather permits. However, the weather can change very quickly, especially in spring and autumn. Even in August, the night temperatures may occasionally drop below zero.

Winter lasts from October to April.

fauna and Flora

The route of the Royal Route runs through regions where the density of residence is sometimes much less than one inhabitant per square kilometer, so you can accidentally meet on the trail all species of wild animals that live in Lapland, especially reindeer, polar foxes, bears, small mammals and some birds.

difficulties

Mosquitoes, bitterns and other even more aggressive species are very common in Lapland and can become a real problem depending on the season. The best way to avoid them is to leave at the latest in summer as much as possible because their number has fallen quite fast since August. One must also avoid standing water zones and fairly numerous swamps. Tents should be compulsory equipped with mosquito nets, a good solution will also be a good deterrent (purchased in Sweden are much more effective than those found in more southern regions).

History

The history of the Royal Route is connected with the STF. This association was created in 1885 by geology students from the University of Uppsala to facilitate access to the Swedish mountains. From the end of the nineteenth century, the association had plans to create a royal trail leading through the mountains of Lapland. A route connecting the current Abisko and Kvikkjokek has been proposed on the map. The construction of the Rud Iron Railway line (swedish Malmbanan) between Kiruna and Narvik in 1902 gave this project an easy access route: STF bought three houses for railway officials from the Swedish railways, one of them in Abisko. The association had very limited funds. It began with the extension of the house in Abisko, to gradually rebuild it into a real tourist hostel. Other chalets started to be built: the first ones were built at the Abisko Lake (Abiskojaure) and Kebnekaise in 1907. Between Abisko and Abiskojaure, the trail ran along an old road used for transporting building materials. In addition to shelters, the association provided boats on the lakes that had to be crossed between Abisko and Vakkotavare.

In the case of the section between Vakkotavare and Kvikkjokk, the initial project assumed the course of the trail in the heart of the Sarek National Park, with a shelter near the Rapa River, which was to be crossed by ferry. But this has not been done and instead the trail leads along the eastern ends of the park.

The trail was not yet marked, and the name Kungsleden was not yet in use. In 1920, in the book about Kebnekaise, the trail appeared under the name Alesvaggeleden. The trail between Abisko and Vakkotavare was finally marked between 1926 and 1927, and it was only in the following year, when the hostel in Kvikkjokku was opened, the name Kungsleden appeared for the first time, but without any inauguration ceremony. Still, there was no route in the proper sense of the word, and the construction of the shelters was difficult, given the very limited financial resources of the STF. Nevertheless, the popularity of the Royal Route grew quickly.

The trail was extended in a rather discreet manner. In 1941, it was mentioned that the Royal Route stretches from Abisko to Jäckvik, and in the early 1950s that to Ammarnäsu. Some of the walkers of that time included in the Royal Route the whole network of STF routes in the mountains, from the Swedish-Norwegian-Finnish triangle in the north to Grövelsjön in the south. However, in 1975 the trail was officially extended to Hemavana with the creation of the Vindelfjällen Reserve. The southernmost part (between Sälen and Storlien) is sometimes called Södra Kungsleden (literally the Southern Royal Route)