Padjelanta

Sweden's largest national park (1,984 km²) takes its name from the Sami Badjelánnda, meaning the higher land. Created in 1962 and part of the Laponian Area World Heritage Site, it protects a vast plateau of open tundra, glacial lakes and gentle hills, in sharp contrast with the ruggedness of neighbouring Sarek. It is also a Sami cultural heartland: it was here that grazing land was historically divided between reindeer-herding families, and the Padjelantaleden trail, rather gentler than the Kungsleden, follows routes of transhumance centuries old.