I visited this WHS in June 2018. The Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland are one of those great WHS which I would have never visited were it not for their inscription on the WH list. Even more so, since their beauty lies mostly in their decorated interior. There are more than 400 of these decorated farmhouses (some you can sleep over in) and the vast majority are very similar with falun red painting. Since inscription, street signs with the UNESCO symbol have been placed near the inscribed farmhouses.

From Falun I drove towards Alfta to the restored and non-inscribed Ol Anderson decorated farmhouse which also houses an emigrants museum. During July and August, the visitor centre is open everyday from 11:00 to 17:00, during May, June and September it's open Friday to Sunday (11:00 to 15:00) and from October to April it's open only on Sundays (11:00 to 15:00). The staff here were extremely helpful and went out of their way to provide information, books, leaflets and contact numbers to visit the inscribed and privately-owned decorated farmhouses. There also is one of the UNESCO WHS inscription certificates in the visitor centre, even though each of the houses I visited proudly displayed one of these certificates too.

In June when I visited, daily guided tours were supposed to be organised at the Pallars and Jon-Lars decorated farmhouses, usually starting with Jon-Lars' at 14:00 and proceeding with Pallars' at 15:00. The combined guided tour costs a whopping 400kr per person or 220kr if you intend to visit only one. On the day of my visit, a group of American tourists from a cruise-liner in Tallinn (!!!) had prebooked an early morning visit to Jon-Lars' followed by lunch and an afternoon visit at Pallars'. Since the main guide who does both these guided tours, Kersti Hisred (070-3756664), only does a tour of each of these houses daily (mostly for Pallars' since it is much more in demand), I thought I had to make do with a visit at Pallars'.

However, as soon as the visitor centre's staff found out that I had visited over 400 WHS, they were so impressed that they gave me Jon-Lars' direct contact number (Mr. Hakan 070-3173393) and he was so kind as to welcome me to his decorated farmhouse on my own. Needless to say, even though the Pallars' farmhouse is bigger and the painted room decorations are more intricate, visiting with another 15 talkative tourists and a guide, felt not only rushed but almost disrespectful to the cosy and quiet atmosphere inside the farmhouses. That said, the painted room alone is worthy of inscription and of a visit.

The unexpected highlight of my visit was the painted room inside Jon-Lars' decorated farmhouse (photo). Mr. Hakan gave me a leaflet in English with some information on the main aspects and history of the rooms which was more than enough. The colourful wallpaper and blue faux marble of the chimney in the other rooms were worth viewing but what made this visit extra special were the stories the owner told me in relation to most items in the farmhouse especially in the painted room. These stories were passed on from generation to generation over the past 400 years or so.

To reach the Jon-Lars and Pallars decorated houses, you simply need to follow the brown Stora Halsingegardars Vag sign with a flower to Långhed and you can't miss them. On our way to the High Coast we stopped at Söderala to visit the rather plain but more accessible Erik-Anders decorated farmhouse. Entrance costs 50 kroner without a guide or 100 kroner for the guided tour at 14:00 and it is open everyday (24th June to 31st August 11:00-17:00, 1st September to 28th October 12:00 to 15:00, and 1st april to 17th June 12:00 to 15:00). The highlight in Erik-Anders is the Great Hall with sky blue faux marble walls, colour-matched with the tiled stove.

Due to the unforgettable experience, this WHS visit was very special and one of my favourite in Sweden. I'd love to visit the remaining decorated farmhouses if I'm in Sweden again in the near future. Another non-inscribed decorated farmhouse worth visiting is the Martes decorated farmhouse in Edsbyn with its 1700s baroque paintings in the festivities room.