National parks are areas featuring a certain type of landscape, protected to preserve their natural condition. It's about creating opportunities to experience nature. Swedish Lapland has the most, the oldest and the largest national parks in Sweden.
A breath of fresh air never hurts. That has always been our roundabout way of trying to explain what it is that makes nature good for us human beings. But the results of more and more research in recent years have shown just how beneficial spending time in the great outdoors is for human health and wellbeing. Science confirms a piece of time-honoured folk wisdom. It’s time for a walk in the woods.
In Swedish Lapland, nature plays an intrinsic role in our life and work, and the people here are highly sensitive to the small details of the changing seasons. Therefore, it seems only natural that the Sámi people describe eight seasons instead of four.
In the village Kalvträsk outside Skellefteå, wildlife photographer Conny Lundström has constructed a number of hides where photographers can experience a photo session with golden eagles up close. British photographer Dani Connor came here for that very reason: to capture golden eagles with her camera. But when she returned home, her memory cards were filled with pictures of squirrels.
Scouting out the 'Big Five' on the African savannah is the big dream of many. They include leopard, lion, elephant, rhino and African buffalo and is a group of large, majestic and fairly dangerous animals. Here in the Arctic part of Sweden, we don't have animals the size of an elephant or with the speed of a leopard, but we have a fair few animals that are pretty cool in their own way. Below we have listed five animals that are both unique and fascinating, definitely worth putting on a list of must-see animals.
Imagine what it would be like for a few days to leave all the stress and all the noise behind you, breathing in the forest scent and meeting its four-legged or winged residents face to face and assuming the role of a real nature photographer.
Many think autumn is the most beautiful time of year in Swedish Lapland. It's as if Earth itself grants a generous firework display of colour before the winter sleep settles over the Arctic landscape. And it's easy to capture the show with a camera on standby. These are five simple tips for capturing autumn in a photo.
When I turn my headlight off everything turns black. First I can't see anything, not even my hand in front of my face. Soon my eyes get used to the darkness and above me, a starry sky slowly lights up, so clear it makes me shiver. This is how our ancestors experienced the starry sky: sparkling and clear. I start to feel a breath-taking sense of humility and reverence.
So, you are in Swedish Lapland, Sweden's Arctic destination, to experience the magical northern lights. Here are seven tips on how to get some good pictures of the beautiful light phenomenon to take back home.
Small-scale, hosting and proximity to nature. Curiosity, knowledge and learning. During her visit to Geunja the Sámi Eco Lodge in the mountain landscape surrounding Ammarnäs, Maria lived in complete harmony with nature. Something happened there, and an inner journey commenced.
What started with a film featuring a small wooden hut in the forest has become a cool hotel. These days Treehotel in Harads is considered one of the world's foremost travel destinations. But Treehotel is more than just a design favourite among the treetops. It’s the childhood fantasy we’ve all dreamed of – just in a more luxurious package.
Even with people there, the calmness of the place stands out. Geunja Sámi Eco Lodge stands there, carefully tucked in between the shores of a crystal clear lake and the foot of a high mountain.
We were kindly allowed to read the guestbook from Logger's Lodge, filled with ecstatic reviews from world celebrities, ordinary people and people in love who have visited to forget about all the must-dos for a while and get utterly spoilt. We felt we had to go there ourselves to experience it.
Lennart Pittja runs the award-winning eco-lodge Sápmi Nature Camp in the Laponia World Heritage in Swedish Lapland, on the grounds his sámi reindeer herding community Unna Tjerusj has inhabited for generations. The island up in Sårgåjávrre is the summer grazing land for the reindeer, the place where Lennart fish his fish, and the place he calls home.
Eating well is part of every journey. Well, it could be the whole reason for the trip. This is the food story.
If a fish, or a catch, is to be a story, the fish has to be out of the ordinary, preferably bordering on dangerous. And if the story is to become a classic, the fish should be as big as a whale or the fisher should at least be a character like Captain Ahab.
On a headland called Viedásnjárgga in Stora Sjöfallet National Park lies Naturum Laponia. It's a place that tells a story of mountains on the other side of the lake and how reindeer find their way here year after year. It tells part of the story why this place was awarded the title World Heritage.
