Dröstorp vandringsled

Hiking trail in Dröstorp nature reserve.

Parking spaces are available in Skarpa Alby and Ekelunda.

Along an alvar road from Skarpa Alby, you go out on the alvar to Dröstorp's deserted village, along the trail there are several exciting places to visit, such as the deserted village, Prästgropen, Torrör, Tor källa etc. The trail is sparsely marked but follows the natural path. If you're lucky, goldfish can also be glimpsed in a pond near Prästgropen.

The trail runs on existing ground, which is largely on the limestone outcrop, here there are also stretches of gravel, stone and grass. The road is very bumpy in places and any bicycle may need to be led here, which need not be a disadvantage as there is much to experience and enjoy in this varied, extensive landscape.

The Alvaret is like a mosaic of different natural/plant environments such as outcrops and gravel pits (weathered limestone), surfaces that have been open ever since the last glaciation. Here there are dry and wet meadows with a rich and varied flora. The area is dominated by a more or less thick moraine blanket where junipers prevail.

The contrast between the seasons is great. In the spring, water bodies or so-called wets are common and small streams often ripple over the stair-like limestone ledges. The floral display is breathtaking and the larks' chirping continues as a constant background noise. In the summer, the ground is often burnt brown and dry, but elements of plants adapted to this climate can be found. In autumn, the heat lingers for a long time due to the heat-retaining ability of the limestone, and now it is the trumpeting of the cranes that sounds above the alvar. In the winter, the blizzard has free rein over the large expanses, but calm days invite you to wonderful ski tours or ice skating on the frozen bogs.

In all alvar, arctic, southern European and Asian plants grow side by side and each has developed its own strategy to cope with the tough climate that prevails here with alternations between extreme heat, cold, drought and flooding.

In the area you can come across springs that spring up from the cave and whose water tastes delicious on a hot summer day.

At the Dröstorp Swamp, in the middle of the countryside, the old fairytale village of Dröstorp lies alone and abandoned, and it is not difficult to imagine what it might have been like to live here.

The village was established at the end of the 17th century or the beginning of the 18th century and was abandoned at the end of the 19th century. Traces of graves in the form of stone placements and mounds southwest of the village site testify that people also lived here during parts of the Iron Age.

Out here, there is a rarely experienced stillness and silence that is only broken by the non-stop chirping of the lark and perhaps the desolate whistling of the great sparrow or the alvargrimma*, which creates an enchanting atmosphere.

Contact: County Administrative Board