Sweden Guide
Central and northern Sweden
In many ways, the long wedge of land that comprises central and northern Sweden – from the shores of Lake Vänern up to the Finnish border north of the Arctic Circle – encompasses all that is most typical of the country. Rural and underpopulated, it fulfils the image most people have of Sweden: lakes, pine forests, wooden cabins and reindeer – a vast area of land that is really one great forest broken only by the odd village or town.
Folklorish Dalarna province is the most intensely picturesque region. Even a quick tour around one or two of the more accessible places gives an impression of the whole: red cottages with white doors and window frames, sweeping green countryside and water that is bluer than blue. Dalarna's inhabitants maintain a cultural heritage (echoed in contemporary handicrafts and traditions) that goes back to the Middle Ages. And the province is the place to spend midsummer, particularly Midsummer's Eve, when the whole region erupts in a frenzy of celebration featuring the age-old tradition of dancing around the maypole (an ancient fertility symbol), countless impromptu musical gatherings and much beer drinking.
The privately owned Inlandsbanan, the great inland railway, cuts right through central and northern Sweden and links most of the towns and villages covered in this chapter. Running from Mora to Gällivare, above the Arctic Circle, it ranks amongst the best European train journeys, an enthralling two-day, 1100-kilometre adventure. It's certainly a much livelier approach to the north than the east-coast run up from Stockholm. North of Mora, Östersund is the only town of any size, situated by the side of Storsjön, the "Great Lake", reputed to be home to Sweden's very own Loch Ness Monster. From here, trains head in all directions: west to Norway through the country's premier ski resort, Åre, south to Mora and Stockholm, east to Sundsvall on the Bothnian Coast, and north to Swedish Lapland.