Sights: High mountain landscape with alpine peaks, glaciers and narrow valleys. The fauna of the major valleys. The delta at Rapaselet and the Rapa delta.
Area: 197,000 hectares.
Established: 1909.
Location: Between the source lakes of the Stora and Lille Lule rivers, fifty kilometres east of the Norwegian border in Jokkmokk Municipality, Norrbotten County.
Visiting Sarek: The national hiking trail, Kungsleden, runs through the southeastern tip of the park. Hikers may start out from Kvikkjokk and along Tarradalen Valley to the south, or from Saltaluokta to the north. Another approach is by boat from Ritsem, on the north shore of Lake Akkajaure, to the northern border of the park. Hiking in Sarek requires familiarity with alpine conditions, difficult terrain and rapidly changing weather. There are no sleeping facilities for tourists. There are only a few bridges, and crossing the many rivers may be difficult: Rain, or warm weather that accelerates glacial melting, may dramatically increase the flow of water. During winter, the risk of avalanches and severesnowstorms is great.
Sarek is strikingly alpine for Sweden with magnificent mountain ranges and narrow valleys, glaciers and wild rapids. It is a splendid piece of unspoiled wilderness. The park contains over 200 mountains over 1,800 metres. Six of Sweden's 13 highest mountains are found here, as are about 100 glaciers.
Rapadalen valley is the artery of Sarek. The Rapaätno river has an enormous flow and carries green glacial water from about thirty glaciers. Rapadalen contains dense thickets of mountain birch, osier and herbaceous plants. The flora is rather poor in most of the park, but the animal life in the great valleys is rich. If you are lucky you can see bear, wolverine, lynx or one of the unusually large elks.
Sarek is not recommended for beginners. Those wishing to visit the park must have considerable alpine experience and the correct equipment and should be used to spending time outdoors. Sarek is an extremely inaccessible wilderness with no facilities whatsoever for tourists. Here, you are on your own. The foremost sights of Sarek are the alpine landscape with its sharp peaks, glaciers and narrow valleys, the animal life and the delta areas in Rapaselet and Rapadeltat.