Kungsleden

Kungsleden ('''King's Trail''') is a hiking trail in northern Sweden, approximately long, between Abisko in the north and Hemavan in the south. The full distance breaks down into 419.3 km of trekking, 18.2 km of lake crossings and a 29.5 km stretch of road, almost all of which hikers cover by bus. It passes through, near the southern end, the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Europe. In the winter Kungsleden is a ski trail with approximately the same route.

==History== The history of Kungsleden is connected to the Swedish Tourism Association (Svenska Turistföreningen or STF). This association was formed in 1885 by scientists at Uppsala in order to facilitate access to Swedish mountains. From the late nineteenth century, the association had the idea of creating a royal road through the mountains in Swedish Lapland. The proposed route was to link the present-day Abisko to Kvikkjokk. Construction of the Malmbanan railway line between Kiruna and Narvik in 1902 gave this project the required access. STF bought three officer cabins from the Swedish Railways including one at Abisko. With the very limited funds available, it gradually transformed the cabin at Abisko into a tourism station. It also built chalets: the first ones being those of Abiskojaure and Kebnekaise in 1907. Between Abisko and Abiskojaure, the trail followed an old road used to transport materials. In addition to the cottages, the association brought in boats for the lakes between Abisko and Vakkotavare.