Kiruna & Swedish Lapland

Why Kiruna & Swedish Lapland works

Kiruna is Sweden's northernmost town and, since 2016, one being deliberately moved — the LKAB iron ore mine beneath it, one of the largest underground mines in the world, has destabilised the ground so severely that the entire town centre, including its distinctive wooden church, is being relocated three kilometres east over a multi-decade project, a genuinely unusual thing to witness. For travellers, though, Kiruna is really a gateway to Swedish Lapland's wilderness. Nearby Jukkasjärvi is home to the original ICEHOTEL, rebuilt every winter from blocks of Torne River ice into a hotel, bar and gallery of ice sculpture that melts back into the river each spring. From late August to April, when skies are dark and clear, the aurora borealis appears with enough regularity here — this far above the Arctic Circle — that multi-night stays significantly improve your odds of a strong display, best seen from a heated glass-roofed cabin or a snowmobile excursion away from town lights. Summer flips the calendar entirely: the midnight sun keeps the region lit around the clock from late May to mid-July, ideal for hiking in Abisko National Park. The Sámi, Europe's only recognised indigenous people, still herd reindeer across this landscape, and Sámi-run camps offer an honest introduction to a culture and language far older than the Swedish state itself.

Trip Snapshot

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