Hällingsåfallet: The roaring Canyon – Jämtlands Län, Sweden

No people, no asphalt, no other sounds besides tons of water tossing into the biggest canyon in Sweden – and a forest full of bears?

The Hällingsåfallet itself is “only” 43 meters high, but its loud and intense appearance makes it look and feel like a gigantic waterfall. The canyon is 800 meters long and up to 60 meters wide. It’s supposed to be one of Europes longest gorges filled with water and as wild as the waterfall is, the river calms down very quickly as it wanders between the high walls and eventually finds its way out into the wild and beautiful landscapes of Jämtlands Län.

We walked over a little bridge right on top of the edge and watched the masses of water jumping into the abyss. It’s funny how crazy the water turns right at the edge within milliseconds, but arrives there very calm. The river seemed rather sleepy and as still as the trees guiding its muddy and mossy banks.

If you will visit Jämtlands Län and Hällingsållet, make sure to enjoy the Vildmarksvägen, the so called Wilderness Road that takes you to and through all the beauty of the least populated regions in Europe.

We didn’t see any bears, even though there are plenty of brown bears at Jämtlands Län. A local once told us: “You will propably not see a bear, but the bear will see you”. Ever since, we always carry a bear bell on our backpack, when we enter bear areas.

No asphalt, much fun

Once you leave the main road, there will be 30 kilometers of dirt road left between you and the Hällingsåfallet. The drive is beautiful and calming and due to the rather non-existent traffic, your eyes can rest for a while on a distant mountain top, a cabin by the water or some pine trees dancing in the autumn winds – even as the driver.

See you along the road!

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