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Maritime Alps

Lapland

A Tour for the Alpine Garden Society

Tours that take the strain out of enjoying Europe’s flora and fauna! Tours under this banner will be based in a single good quality hotel. And most importantly field trips will be kept to a maximum of six or so hours giving you plenty of time to relax before and after. Flights are available from some regional airports.

Dryas octopetala © Apollonio Tottoli

As the midnight sun dips to the horizon, Tornetrask’s lake mirrors the blue tundra cloaking the high mountains of Abisko National Park. Famed as a stunning example of Arctic Landscapes, Abisko also gets the vote from botanists and birders as one of the very best natural sites in Lapland.

It seems that the entire northern Swedish flora is jostling for space on Njulla Mountain which rises immediately behind our hotel. It looks a long way to the top so it’s a fine thing to have a working ski lift whisk us to 900m above sea level. White carpets of Windflower and pink domes of Moss Campion greet us with a spectacular show. Willow Grouse and Lapland Bunting feed amongst Cassiope hypnoides and rarer Cassiope tetragona. The beautiful lilac-pink Mountain Heath flowers prolifically amongst Alpine Catchfly and mats of lovely Diapensia lapponica on dry tundra, the nesting habitat for elegant Long-tailed Skuas and overflown by Merlin and Rough-legged Buzzard. By snow we can find the beautiful Ranunculus nivalis and on rocks both Saxifraga cespitosa and purple Saxifragaoppositifolia. There’s moss-loving Pinguicula villosa, tiny Snow Gentian, fine yellow Astragalus frigidus, and two rare orchids, the strange Gymnadenia straminea and the tiny green Platanthera oligantha. Bluethroats and Bramblings nest by our hotel, whilst Slavonian Grebes and immaculate Black-throated Divers rear their young on Tornetrask’s still waters. Red-necked Phalaropes spin on boggy pools home to Ruby Whiteface, Azure Hawker and the shimmering Alpine Emerald. Snow Bunting and Reindeer should be seen as we explore the magnificent glaciated Trollsjön Valley where Pale Arctic Clouded Yellows and Cranberry Blues fly amongst Dwarf Cornel and a fine show of Wild Azalea.

If you enjoy Arctic landscapes and fauna and flora, and prefer to spend as little time as possible travelling, then this tour is for you. It is barely an hour to Abisko from the airport at Kiruna and you’ll spend the entire week thereafter less than an hour’s drive from the hotel.

Snow Bunting by Fiona Dunbar

Dates and Prices

7th July - 14th July 2024 (8 days)

London - London £2,395
Stockholm - Stockholm £2,225
Kiruna - Kiruna £2,095
Single Supplement* £190
Deposit £250

* doesn't apply if you're willing to share and a room-mate can be arranged

or ask us a question.

Tour Summary

Day 1
To Kiruna and Abisko
Days 2-4
Abisko National Park visiting Vassijaure, Abisko Gorge, Stordalen Nature Reserve, Njulla
Day 5
Optional Visit to Trollsjön
Days 6-7
Abisko National Park visiting Vassijaure, Abisko Gorge, Stordalen Nature Reserve, Njulla
Day 8
Return to the UK

Tour information

Focus

Flowers, Birds and Arctic Landscapes.

Leaders

Ian Green , Seda Soylu

Group Size

One leader for a group of up to 6, two leaders up to the maximum group size of 12.

Included in the Price

All flights. All transport, meals and accommodation in Sweden. Services of your leaders. Please note: drinks, tips, and items of a personal nature including travel insurance, are not included. Flower and bird checklists are available.

Accommodation

The welcoming Hotel Fjallet in Bjorkliden just a few kilometres from the national park headquarters will be our base for the entire tour. Huge picture windows in the lounge offer fantastic views over Tornetrask Lake and the surrounding mountains. The rooms are bright and clean though nothing fancy and all have en suite showers/WCs.

Walking

Very gentle. Always at a relaxed pace perfectly suited to photographers.

Flights

UK return flights are from London Heathrow or Manchester* to Kiruna, via Stockholm. Other indirect routes from regional UK Airports* may be available.

*These routes may incur a supplement.

Climate

Usually very pleasant with warm sunny days. However the mountain tops will be cooler and cool, damp or windy weather, or all three, are all quite possible.

 

How to Book

Contact us to check if there is availability for the number of places you require. Click on the ‘Book this Tour’ button on this page to be taken to the online booking form or contact us and we will send one to you which you can complete and send back to us. You will receive confirmation of your place, and then a detailed information pack will be dispatched to you about twelve weeks before departure. This will contain up-to-date health information.