From the moment we hit the road north of Skelleftea airport we felt a long way from London. The endless pine forests, lakes and sight of reindeer galloping next to the car certainly provided that disconnect from our day to day life that you hope for on a short break.

As two pretty dedicated urbanites we were out of our comfort zone and trying to get something from one of Europe's largest wildernesses in a short amount of time provided a different set of challenges for us, but I must admit I rather enjoyed my first Arctic world heritage site.

Within the world heritage site proper we visited the southern part of Muddus National Park, which marks the eastern extent of the Laponian area. We had a short hike to visit the small waterfall near Skaite, which gave us a brief glimpse of the natural aspects of the site and provided me with an extensive array of insect bites for my troubles. It was enjoyable and only took a short while to get a bit of a taste of our environs. The drive through the inscribed area also enabled us to get some nice views of the wilderness extending beyond the man-made lakes that litter the area.

We also visited the Ajtte museum in Jokkmokk which attempts to explain the virtues of the area. It was a good place to get a grip on both the natural and cultural aspects of the Sami heartland, though a few of the exhibits felt a bit dated. It was here that I learnt a fair bit about Sami culture, including that traditional Sami dress can tell you an awful lot about the wearer, such as where they live and their marital status.

Additionally we also visited the forest Sami church town (Lappstaden) in Arvidsjaur which was rather interesting and complimented our later visit to Gammelstad. It also made me think I was on the wrong track as I was looking for built structures to help me understand a culture mostly based on migration, still it was a very interesting diversion in a small town that won me over somewhat.

If you really want to get the best out of this site you will probably have to invest a fair bit of time heading to the north Western parts with their more spectacular mountain scenery and long hiking trails. There are also a fair few expensive tours that will enable you to visit and get to know the Sami population a little better, which I think would be very interesting. Sadly we weren't able to do either of these things however a few short walks, extensive driving and a midnight swim in the twilight certainly made it an enjoyable first excursion north of the Arctic circle.

[Site 4: Experience 7]