You can the Vadvetjåkka National Park brochure here

NATIONAL PARKS IN NORRBOTTEN COUNTY
The Ábeskoeatnu Delta at its outflow into Torneträsk. Beyond, the
Abisko Scientific Research station and Lapporten. Photo: Tomas Utsi
Dotterel with young. Photo: Thomas Öberg.
Cover: Ábeskoeatnu Canyon. Photo: Tomas Utsi.
Legend:
Abisko National Park was inaugurated in 1909. It covers 77 sq km, of
which more than half is mountain birch forest. Vadvetjåkka National Park
was inaugurated in 1920 and has neither trails nor amenities. It covers
26 sq km, most of which is treeless mountain. Both national parks lie in
Kiruna Municipality. They are included in the EU ecological network of
protected areas, Natura 2000.
§ Regulations in Abisko and Vadvetjåkka national parks
The complete regulations can be viewed on www.lansstyrelsen.se.
Within the national parks it is forbidden among other things to
Abisko National Park
Vadvetjåkka National Park
You can get to Abisko either by train, or by car/coach on the E10. Close
to the tourist station lies Naturum Abisko, an information centre for
mountain nature and culture. There are Naturum guides who can answer
your questions, and show you the exhibition and slideshow. They also
arrange tours in the national park. Close to Naturum, the King’s Trail starts
its journey south, a hiking trail towards Gorsavággi to the southwest, a chair
lift to Njullá summit and during the winter a snowmobile trail through the
national park.
Vadvetjåkka National Park is less accessible. From the Kopparåsen
stopover on the E10 and the Ore Line, it is a walk of over 10 kilometres
to the park boundary. There is a bridge across the outlet of Lake Vuolip
Njuorajávri, but the brooks and streams must be waded.
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pitch a tent, except where indicated (applies to Abisko National Park)
destroy or damage natural objects or the ground surface
pick or dig up plants (it is permissible to pick berries and mushrooms)
fell or damage growing or dead trees (one may use dry branches to make a fire)
kill, capture, fish or hunt animals, or remove eggs or nests
bring a dog or other animal (During the period 1 Jan-30 Apr one may
however bring a dog on a leash and in Abisko at all times of year bring a dog on a leash on roads and marked trails, and in the
immediate vicinity of the tourist station and Ábeskojávri cabins.)
land an aircraft or use motor-driven vehicles off designated roads or snowmobile trails (however, it is permitted to travel by motorboat on Lake Torneträsk except for areas closed to visitors)
during the period 1 May-31 July, it is forbidden to stay in the
Ábeskoeatnu Delta, which is a bird sanctuary.
Text: Thomas Öberg, Natur i Norr • Translation: ELEX, Pajala • Graphics: Armada Reklambyrå • Printed in 2012
Abisko & Vadvetjåkka
County Administrative Board of Norrbotten. Tel: +46 (0)920-96000 • www.lansstyrelsen.se
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Tel: +46 (0)8-6981000 • www.naturvardsverket.se
Lapland Rosebay and Mountain Avens grow where the ground is rich in
lime. Photo: Thomas Öberg.
Njuoraeatnu delta land in Vadvetjåkka National Park.
Photo: Tomas Utsi.
The Bluethroat on its way to the nest with food.
Lynx with young. Photo: Peter Rosén.
Marking reindeer calves in Gabna reindeer herding community.
Photo: Peter Rosén.
Flowering fell
Happiness is to lie down on a mountain moor,
satisfied and tired, surrounded by
Mountain Avens and Moss Campion in bloom.
The air is filled with the ripple of streams
and the Golden Plover’s fluting.
Beneath hovering woolly clouds, a Golden Eagle sails.
And your personal organiser is far, far away.
Two national parks – close but so different
Abisko National Park
Landscape for Mankind
Abisko and Vadvetjåkka national parks are just 20 kilometres
apart. Abisko is more accessible than Vadvetjåkka, close to a
railway and main road, and with the King’s Trail running right
through it. It is in rain shadow east of the mountain range, and
annual precipitation is only 300 mm. Vadvetjåkka lies closer to the
sea and has three times the precipitation. Both parks feature
treeless mountains, mountain birch forest, wetlands and delta
lands. Epirrita autumnaria larvae have there eaten some of the
birch forest. One can see dead trunks from the butterflies’ attack.
Abisko National Park comprises a mountain valley formed by
inland ice. Here, Ábeskoeatnu stream tumbles through a canyon
between sheer limestone and shale cliffs. The river finally forms
a bird-rich delta emptying into Torneträsk lake. Abisko features
many alpine plants – lime-rich slopes with Mountain Avens,
Lapland Rosebay, Arctic Bell-heather and Moss Campion, verdant
mountain birch forests with tall plants such as Alpine Blue
Sow-Thistle and Globeflower, and virgin forest with ancient pines.
Much comprises dry mountain moors or mountain birch forests
with Blue Heath and Common Crowberry. Ábeskoeatnu canyon
and Njullá’s slopes feature plants favoured by lime. Scarce
species include Arctic Lygnis and Arctic Arnica as well as the
Bluntleaved Orchid on creep soil areas.
The Sámi have for thousands of years used the Torneträsk
area as their hunting grounds for wild reindeer, and more
recently as forage land for their semi-domesticated reindeer.
There are trapping pits from ancient wild reindeer hunting,
lávvu dwelling sites and ancient hearths. Abisko National Park
is a core area for reindeer herding in Gabna reindeer herding
community. It is here the newborn reindeer calves first
encounter bare ground and verdant forage. Vadvetjåkka is an
important summer forage area of Talma reindeer herding community. It is important that visitors avoid disturbing reindeer or
the herding.
The year’s first day
Pastel midwinter light.
Who said Lapland winters are dark?
From Njullá’s summit I look out over Torneträsk lake,
glistening with week-old ice.
A skater makes his way
between the sandbanks in the Abisko Delta.
On the slope above me, Ptarmigan croak.
As so often in Abisko, there is little snow.
We zigzag between jutting rocks,
skiing some of the way on a frosty mat of Trailing Azalea.
In six months it will explode into pink bloom.
Down there in the valley, mountain birch stand,
alongside ancient pines, frosty white.
At the treeline, we cross the loping trail of the wolverine
and the footprints of some Willow Grouse in the fresh snow.
We stop over beside Ábeskoeatnu stream.
We do not get to see the otter, just its snow-slide,
down the limestone cliffs.
Vadvetjåkka National Park
Vadvetjåkka is a small national park named after Vadvetjåkka
Mountain. It features Sweden’s northernmost glacier, only 1,000
metres above sea level. Glaciers form at high altitude where snow
collects and turns into ice. The national park borders on Norway in
the north, and on valleys containing streams in the west and east.
It comprises mostly treeless mountains with summits up to 1,200
metres. To the south, the mountain gives way to deciduous forests
and Njuoraeatnu delta land, known for its abundance of birds
and moose. Since the mountain is calcareous, its slopes feature
rich flora, including Mountain Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Rock
Speedwell and Scandinavian Primula. In the national park and just
west of it, subterranean water has formed some of the deepest
limestone caves in Sweden.
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Wildlife
Bear, lynx and wolverine occur in both parks. They are hard to
glimpse, but in winter the tracks of wolverine and sometimes lynx
can be seen on the wide expanses. 213 bird species have been
noted in the Abisko area. Ring Ouzel and Arctic Warbler are heard
on the slopes of Njullá. Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle,
Rough-legged Buzzard and Gyrfalcon hunt above the mountain.
Other birch forest birds include Common Red Poll, Willow Warbler
and Brambling, in willow thicket, Bluethroat and on mountain
moors Golden Plover and Dotterel. On wetlands, the mating cries
of the Wood Sandpiper, Whimbrel and Common Greenshank
sound in the spring night. The Red-throated Diver nests in small
tarns. The thin snow covering in Abisko means large numbers of
moose congregate in the mountain forest in winter.
The Ore Line from Kiruna to Narvik passes through the
northern part of Abisko National Park. It opened for rail traffic
in 1902. In the same year, the first tourist cabin was built in
Abisko. The Ore Line transports iron ore from the mines to the
ice-free harbour, but quickly proved its usefulness to
mountain tourism. Abisko Tourist Station was built in 1906,
and the King’s Trail leading south was marked out 20 years
later. When the E10 was completed to Narvik in 1984,
mountain tourism increased further.
Scientist have been coming to the Torneträsk area for over a
century. Abisko Scientific Research Station has the national
park as a main research field, and is today a cornerstone in
international alpine and environmental research. Studies here
deal in particular with the effects of climate change on the
Arctic landscape.