Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACCOMMODATION
GRÖVELSJÖN
STF Grövelsjön fjällstation
T
0253 59 68 80,
W
stfgrovelsjon.com
. This is virtually the only building here,
with a variety of rooms with private facilities and prices
depending on the season; it boasts a restaurant, kitchen,
sauna, massage room and solarium. Closed May
to mid
-June
& Oct to Christmas, but open New Year. Doubles
690kr
Härjedalen
From Mora and Orsa, the Inlandsbanan trundles through the northern reaches of
Dalarna before crossing the provincial border into
Härjedalen
, a sparsely populated
fell region stretching north and west to the Norwegian border, and containing some
of the best scenery anywhere in Sweden. Indeed, the region belonged to Norway until
1645, and the influence of the Norwegian language is still evident today in the local
dialect. Härjedalen got its name from the unfortunate Härjulf Hornbreaker, a servant
to the Norwegian king, who mistakenly killed two of the king's men and was banished
from the court. He fled to Uppsala, where he sought protection from King Amund,
but after falling in love with Amund's cousin, Helga, and arousing the king's fury he
was forced to make another hasty exit. It was then he came across a desolate valley in
which he settled and which he named after himself: Härjulf 's dale, or Härjedalen, as
it's known today.
From the comfort of the Inlandsbanan, you'll be treated to a succession of
breathtaking vistas of vast forested hill and mountainsides (Härjedalen boasts more
than thirty mountains of over 1000m) - these are some of the emptiest tracts of land in
the whole country, also home to the country's largest population of bears. Although the
sleepy provincial capital,
Sveg
, holds little of appeal, it's from here that
buses
head
northwest to the remote mountain villages of
Funäsdalen
and
Tänndalen
, both with
easy access to excellent and little-frequented
hiking trails
through austere terrain which
features a handful of shaggy musk oxen that have wandered over the border from
Norway. Nearby, across the lonely
Flatruet plateau
, with its ancient rock paintings, tiny
Ljungdalen
is the starting point for treks to Sweden's southernmost glacier,
Helags
, on
the icy slopes of Helagsfjället (1797m).
8
Sveg and around
Around three hours and 140km north of Mora by the Inlandsbanan,
SVEG
is the first
place of any significance after Lake Siljan. With a tiny population of just 2600, the
town is far and away the biggest in Härjedalen - though that's not saying much. Even
on a Friday night in the height of summer you'll be hard pushed to find anyone on the
streets. But though there's not an awful lot to do or see, Sveg's a pretty enough place:
the wide streets are lined with grand old wooden houses, and the beautiful Ljusnan
River runs through the centre of town.
Train station
There are a couple of diversions worthy of attention, the first of which is ideally located
for arrivals by both train and bus: on permanent display inside the
train station
building on Järnvägsgatan (which is also used as the bus station) is a free
exhibition
of
the life and times of the Inlandsbanan, in old photos and maps. Unfortunately the text
and captions are only in Swedish but it's pretty evident that without the railway Sveg
probably wouldn't be here at all. The town's lifeblood since 1909, when the line to Orsa
was opened by King Gustaf V and Queen Viktoria, the Inlandsbanan not only brings
visitors to the region during the short summer months, but also provides a means of
transporting timber and peat pellets (see p.298) to southern Sweden.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
BEARS IN ORSA GRÖNKLITT BJÖRNPARK (P.292); CROSS-COUNTRY SKIERS SEEN AT THE START OF THE
ANNUAL VASALOPPET SKI RACE (P.290); CROSS-HATCHED WOODEN FENCE, DALARNA COUNTRYSIDE (P.282) >