Worth seeing in Kiruna


The Ice-hotel

The Icehotel is perhaps the biggest tourist attraction in Kiruna. This amazing hotel is situated approximately twenty kilometres outside Kiruna in the small village Juukasjärvi. This hotel made by snow and ice was built for the first time in 1980 and then it was only a small igloo. Today the Icehotel is being built as a big hotel and almost as a small village. Here one can book a hotel room that is really cold to sleep in. There are also some warmer rooms for those who are a bit frozen. Even if it is really cold outside it will feel warm even in the colder rooms. It will never get colder than minus five degrees Celsius. Here one can spend the night in a very warm sleeping bag but it is essential to bring a warm cap for the head. To sleep in the cold hotel room is an amazing experience. There are two nice restaurants within the premises and here one can also find the famous “Absolut Ice bar” also built by ice and snow. Here one can have a nice drink made of the Swedish Absolut Vodka. The Icehotel and the alcohol manufacturer collaborates in building this nice icy bar every year.

When visiting the Icehotel and Kiruna it is possible to participate in different outings. Many tourists like to try the fishing. Here one has the opportunity to go for a fishing tour for more than one day. In this case one sleeps in small cabins with warm stoves.

It is also possible to join a guided tour with motor-scoter through the National Park of Abisko. This tour leads all the way to the spot where Sweden, Norway and Finland meet. This place is called “Treriksroset”.


Kebnekaise

A fantastic attraction in Kiruna is of course the highest mountain in Sweden which is called Kebnekaise. This mountain is more than 2000 metres high. Many tourists visit the mountain every year to walk/climb up to one of the two highest peaks. Many walking tours with guides start every summer from the alpine station near Kebnekaise. One can reach this station by boat across the river Ladtjojaure and the journey starts from Nikkaloukta. If one is not interested in walking or travelling by boat there is the possibility to go by helicopter from Kiruna. It is not too expensive, but one must be prepared for the fact that the flight might get cancelled due to the weather conditions in the area. In the winter one can choose to travel with a motor-scoter or a tracked vehicle. Now a days there is also another possibility; one can be pulled by a lot of dogs in a sleigh. All these different kinds of transporting to the mountain will be a memorable adventure.

Kebnekaise is the highest mountain in Sweden and it lies within the area of the city of Kiruna. The mountain crest is as long as seven kilometres and it is called “Vargryggen” (in English: the back of the wolf). It takes about two weeks to walk around the whole mountain area and about a week to climb up to the top of the highest peak. The highest spot is the south peak and it is 2 117 metres high. The second highest is the north peak and it is just some metres lower than the south peak. It is quite amazing for a city to have such a high mountain just next doors. Within this mountain area lies a lot of glaciers. If one manage to reach the south peak it is, when the weather allows it, possible to see the Atlantic Ocean. Maybe Charles Rabot was able to see the Ocean when he climbed the Kebnekaise in 1883. He was the first person ever to climb the top of the south peak.

The tourist that considers walking in this mountain area should be fairly well trained and have some knowledge of how to climb. It is essential to plan the walking in the mountains thoroughly and not to schedule to walk too long per day. Perhaps it does not look so far on the map, but when climbing the hillside it is quite a different experience. It is crucial to be properly dressed for the walk in the wilderness and to have a check at the weather report before setting off. In the area of Kebnekaise there are a lot of small cabins and it is really a good tip to plan the walk of the day to be from one cabin to another. The distance between the cabins is perfect for a days walk. Sometimes it is nice to plan a day or two for the opportunity to rest and for taking care of swollen feet.







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