Does Kvikkjokk belong to the hikers?
Kvikkjokk isn't just for hikers. Discover why this Swedish Lapland paradise offers peace, space, and natural beauty for anyone seeking escape from urban stress - not just experienced trekkers on the Kungsleden trail.
Kvikkjokk is by no means an undiscovered part of the world.
And yet.
Apart from its 20 or so year round residents, it is virtually exclusively the experienced hikers who seem to have found the way to Kvikkjokk. That is certainly good for them — the residents and the hikers — but to me it feels like something is not stacking up here.
The gentle white mountain tops.
The endless river — which looks like a lake in some places, and like a wild water river in other places.
The immaculate beauty.
The Space.
The Peace!
None of this was designed to remain the exclusive terrain of hikers, nor of the Kvikkjokk residents. There’s way more people who could benefit greatly from this natural abundance.
How many people in cities and rural areas are burning out from stress and chaos all across Europe, or even the world for that matter? Suffering amidst concrete buildings in densely populated areas?
Perhaps Kvikkjokk might even be of more value to them than to the hikers?
Hikers tend to leave the morning after their arrival — onto their final destination somewhere else along the long Kungsleden trail.
But folks who are not necessarily experienced hikers but are looking for Space, Peace and Natural Beauty may rightly want to stay longer in Kvikkjokk, and thus benefit even more.
Of course, I am not saying everyone should move to Kvikkjokk to come and live here. Neither is the goal to invite mass tourism to Kvikkjokk. Mass tourism would destroy the area. And surviving here as a resident is obviously a challenge that is not for everyone given the remoteness and the sometimes harsh weather conditions.
But for those of us who are looking for peace, space and natural beauty, and know how to appreciate and respect it, this area of natural grandiosity can be of absolute immeasurable value.
Regardless of the season. Even in Fall or Winter, indeed. That is perhaps where Holy Motors can be most of service: because that is when a comfortable and above all safe and warm place is of quintessential importance in this remote and — at that time — harsh environment.
And that is exactly what Didzis has been building here the past few years. First for himself. And subsequently for visitors from all over the world — not necessarily just for the hikers indeed.