Fulufjället National Park

While the Madeleine-cookies reminded Proust of his childhood, cranberries remind me of the walk we made in Fulufjället National Park, Sweden. Picking cranberries that were growing at our feet meant a great, unique experience for me. In Fulufjället, I experienced what it means to be close to nature.

The adventure started last September when, in the framework of the Swedish-Hungarian Year, I could participate in a tour to Fulufjället, the first fully certified PAN Park, to study sustainable tourism. After the indoor programmes we were invited to a fieldtrip. 

First we visited the impressive Naturuum Visitor Center that is very spacious, light, and nicely fits into the environment with its natural style.
While walking around the building you can acquire not only new information but also a personal experience of the national park and its inhabitants - by touching the nests of birds, listening to the sounds of various animal species, and studying the large posters and boards on the wall. The movie-hall is a special source of entertainment: you can select a short film on nature and enjoy the high sound and screen quality; we watched a film about the disastrous downpour in Fulufjället. The exhibition is complex, playful and amusing: by using all your senses you can feel closer to nature and learn a lot about it. The organisers of the exhibition took into consideration the specific needs and demands of every age group: there are games for children and even footstools for the smallest ones.

Next we walked to the spectacular Njupeskär waterfall along wooden pathways. It was raining and there was a strong wind, but the landscape made us forget about the unfavorable weather. The white sandstone coloured by lichens, the big lakes, the remote mountains, the steep rock walls, the velvet-brownish-yellow color of the woods - a wonderful sight, the “wild” face of Fulufjället!

We even saw ravens flying in circles suggesting that there may be a bear nearby. And there are, of course, the tasty cranberries and the fantastic stories our guide told us, tales about the people who lived here and walked under the same trees as we - some of them are several hundred years old. One would even expect the appearance of a fairy or goblin. Instead we see Njupeskär, the giant waterfall. Tiny water drops fall on our faces when we take a closer look at this splendid natural phenomenon.
We are curious what it would look like frozen in winter.

The return also reserves something for us: we choose the longer route to see more of this beautiful landscape. Marshes border both sides of the wooden path and the trail leads us through primordial, wild forests.

When we get back, we are very tired. The cranberries have disappeared but the fabulous experience remains with us. In Fulufjället, I understood that to have wilderness we need not only untouched nature but also people that live together with nature, the mystic legends, the relationship between man and nature.

by Éva Varga