Nordkalottruta

The Arctic Trail — Nordkalottleden — winds roughly 800 km through the far north of Sweden, Norway and Finland, crossing the borders many times north of the Arctic Circle. One of Europe's great wilderness treks, it takes about four weeks to walk in full and links some of the emptiest country on the continent.

The landscape is pure Arctic wilderness: treeless fells, glacial valleys, vast lakes, reindeer herds of the Sámi people, and, in the Swedish section, a brush with Kebnekaise, the country's highest peak. Under the midnight sun the walking can continue around the clock, and the sense of remoteness is profound, with days between any road.

This is a committing trek for self-reliant walkers, with long stages, unbridged streams, boggy ground and rapidly changing mountain weather. A chain of unstaffed and staffed huts run by the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish trekking associations provides shelter, but gaps require a tent and several days' food; navigation skill is essential. No permit is required, though walkers respect Sámi reindeer-herding land.

The trail links long-established mountain-hut networks across the three countries into a single Arctic route, showcasing a shared northern wilderness. The short season runs from July to mid-September, after the snow melts and before the autumn freeze; even then, walkers prepare for cold, wind, rain and the summer mosquito, carrying full expedition kit for this exposed and roadless country.