Sunday, February 16, 2020

Cesar's Guide to Hiking Värmland: Älgå to Charlottenberg




Introduction

This section is a continuation of my alternate Swedish E1 trail called The Troll Trail/Trolleden.  Click here for more information on this trail system.  The southern end of this section at the village of Älgå connects Glaskogen Nature reserve to Pilgrimsleden Värmland.  Pilgrimsleden can then connect to another trail called Kyrkleden past the village of Koppom, which in turn then connects to the border town of Charlottenberg.  

Here is the official site of Pilgrimsleden, which is maintained by the Swedish Church.  It has some PDF maps and info, but only in Swedish.

Kyrkleden doesn't really have an official site, just some bare bones info on the local county website.  Best if you just have a good map of the area.

There are a few different ways one can choose to hike this route, but in total it's about 75-80km long from Älgå church to the train station in Charlottenberg.  After exiting Glaskogen, you can also choose to take a bus from Älgå to Arvika to resupply and check out the city--it's a cozy place with cafes and shops and such.  Then from Arvika you can take a bus back to Pilgrimsleden in the village of Sulvik, and the only thing you'd miss would be a 5km asphalt walk from Älgå to Sulvik.