Abisko

Abisko is the national park, mountain station and railway halt on the E10 between Kiruna and Narvik, and it belongs on a route for two reasons that do not overlap: in summer it is the northern trailhead of the Kungsleden, which the park's own page says runs through it, and in the dark months it is the place in Scandinavia most often chosen for aurora because the lake and the mountains keep the sky clear. Either way it is a destination, not a drive-by.

The way in is the planning fact the brief asked for. Road and rail run side by side: the E10 from Kiruna and the Malmbanan ore railway, which carries the Stockholm night train and local services on to Narvik, both pass the station. Trafikverket's national traffic page gave no E10 detail today and the operators' pages would not open, so no journey time is stated here; what is on record is that a winter storm has closed both the railway and the E10 at once on avalanche grounds, and that Abisko holds a Trafikverket contract to blast avalanches. In winter, carry food and a day of slack.

Timing: two hours walks you to the canyon and back; two nights is the minimum for aurora odds or a first Kungsleden stage. Quiet is May and early June, between the ski tourers and the walkers, and October before the aurora season fills up.

Practical line: there is no fuel at Abisko and no real shop; the last of both is Kiruna, east along the E10, and the next is in Norway. The STF station sells meals and basic supplies to guests. Check the park's "getting here" page for parking; it returned an error today.