Things to do in Abisko

7 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Abisko is small, and that makes planning simple. Almost every operator picks guests up at the main places to stay in the village and in Björkliden, about 15 minutes away by bus, so you rarely need a car for a tour. The national park begins right beside the STF mountain station, and from there the canyon walk, the lake shore and the chairlift to the Aurora Sky Station are all within walking distance. The first part of this page covers the activities that have their own guide on this site; further down are the smaller tours and what you can do on your own.

The main activities

Northern lights

The Swedish Tourist Association gives the season as late August to April, with the best chances from mid-November to mid-March. Kiruna Lapland points out that the most intense part of a display often lasts less than ten minutes, and that activity tends to peak between 21:00 and 23:00. Tours come in several forms: by van with a guide who drives to wherever the sky is clear, on foot to a tipi, by snowmobile, or as a photo tour where a camera is set up for you and the group is limited to eight. No operator can promise an aurora. Reviews of the photo tour mention evenings spent at a single spot when the sky stayed cloudy, and the tour page asks you to bring your own SD card. The full range is on the northern lights page.

Snowmobiles

Inside the national park, motor vehicles are only allowed on designated roads and marked snowmobile trails. The longest tour follows the Kungsleden up to Lake Abiskojaure, crosses the lake and continues along the Gámaeatnu river. It runs daily from December to March, lasts about four hours plus pickup and takes at most eight guests, two to a snowmobile. Shorter evening trips combine the ride with the aurora. Reviewers of that tour describe a short drive to one spot and a long wait there, and when the trails are icy it may switch to a car. More on the snowmobile tours page.

Huskies and dog sledding

There is no bookable dog sledding in Abisko itself. The sled trip goes to a camp near Kiruna, where a musher drives a sled for up to four guests on a circuit of 10 to 12 km, with a fire and fika halfway. The full day takes about seven hours, and reviewers often say the bus ride is long compared with the time on the sled. Closer to the village, the evening husky hike from the Abisko.net kennel covers about 4 km to a lávvu with a fire and cinnamon buns. See dog sledding and husky hikes.

Snowshoeing and hiking

The most booked walk is a guided morning hike of 3 to 4 km through the birch forest along the canyon towards the delta and Torneträsk, with pickup included. Several reviewers note that it follows marked paths you could also walk alone, so it suits people who want a guide's explanations more than a workout. Afternoon snowshoe hikes and evening walks in the dark are listed there too. The choice is on the snowshoeing and hiking page.

Ice climbing and ice fishing

The ice climbing tour lasts three hours. You put on alpine boots, crampons, harness and helmet, take a short ride to an icefall and climb vertical ice with a UIAA-certified guide in a small group. Children under 10 cannot take part, and warm clothing and food are not included. The ice fishing trips drill holes on smaller lakes early in the winter and on Torneträsk later, for Arctic char, grayling and burbot. Remember that fishing is banned inside the national park, so the holes are drilled outside it, and the fishing licence is extra. Details on ice climbing and ice fishing.

Sámi culture and reindeer

Sámi have lived around Abisko for thousands of years, and the trapping pits and hearths in the park date from that history. Today Gabna sameby herds reindeer in the area, and most of its members live in Rensjön. Tours visit a reindeer enclosure near the village on snowshoes, a Sámi village at Rautas about 45 minutes away, or a lávvu where a Sámi reindeer herder performs joik before an aurora chase. More on the Sámi culture page.

Further afield

Full-day trips cross the border to the fjords around Narvik or drive to the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi near Kiruna. These days last six to seven and a half hours; see day trips from Abisko.

Shorter tours

A half-day tour with lunch covers the sights close to the village. It visits the canyon and the Silver Waterfall, walks out on the frozen lake to small islands when the ice is safe and finishes with lunch at a hotel in Björkliden. The way down to the lake is short but steep, and the tour is not suitable for people with limited mobility. When the lake is not frozen, the walk in the park is longer instead.

For a quiet afternoon, Experience Abisko drives out by car or snowmobile to a spot outside the village. You learn to light a fire with an axe, a knife and a fire steel, and the waffles come off the open fire with whipped cream and cloudberries. It lasts two hours.

On your own

The canyon loop starts at the naturum visitor centre and is marked in yellow. It passes a small hut, a museum and a tunnel decorated by artists, and on the west bank about 300 metres of boardwalk run along the canyon to a picnic spot with the park's golden crown symbol. The whole loop takes about an hour. A gravel road and a green-marked path lead down to the shore of Torneträsk, where there are benches and a fireplace accessible by wheelchair. About 300 metres behind the railway station stands a reconstructed Sámi autumn and spring camp with storehouses, wooden huts and drying racks.

The visitor centre itself has a nature guide, an exhibition on habitats in a changing climate, a shop and a children's corner. In winter it opens on only three afternoons a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from 14:00 until 13 February and from 13:00 after that, closing at 17:00. These are the hours of the County Administrative Board, which runs it.

The Aurora Sky Station stands at about 900 metres on Njullá. The open chairlift from the valley station, ten minutes' walk from STF Abisko Turiststation, takes 20 to 40 minutes. In winter 2026/27 the station opens in the evening from 19 October to 27 March, from 21:00 to 01:00, and only with a booking made in advance; the guided night visit has 40 places. Daytime rides run from 13 February to 26 April. The station accepts cards only, no cash. Our Aurora Sky Station page has the details.

The Kungsleden begins at the same mountain station. The first stage to the Abiskojaure huts is 14 km on a wide, easy path and takes four to five hours. Lapporten, the U-shaped valley between two mountains, is best seen from a distance, for example from the Björkliden ski area. It has no marked trail and lies more than 12 km away on foot each way, with about 500 metres of climbing.

What runs when

From December to March the full winter programme runs: snowmobiles, dog sledding, ice climbing, ice fishing and snowshoe tours, with aurora tours every evening. The sun does not rise from 6 December to 6 January, though the midday twilight lasts about five hours. Björkliden and Riksgränsen open their ski season in February, after the darkest weeks; in 2027 from 4 and 18 February. Autumn, from September before the snow arrives, brings the first aurora tours and autumn hikes. From 25 May to 19 July 2027 the sun does not set, the aurora is out of sight and the chairlift runs in daytime from mid-June. The best time to visit page goes through the year month by month.