Silvervägen-Mavas

At the start of the trail there is a large car park next to a powerful stream, a wind shelter and the latrine. The place is near the highest point along the Silver Road (Silvervägen), 740 m asl. The hike to Lake Mávasjávrre takes a day for those who are somewhat faster, otherwise two days. It can be a good idea to separate the two days with an overnight stop in a tent.

Silvervägen–Ikkesjávrre, 18 km

From Lake Mávasjávrre, you follow the trail for a few hundred metres upwards from the shore. Here you find a simple wind shelter. The trail continues in mountain birch forest, following the shore of Mávas for a few kilometres. There is a lovely view across the blue lake at the mighty twin summits of Årjepp Sávllo. The trail takes you up a long slope towards Ikkesvágge Valley. On the bare mountain you see carpets of Arctic White Heather and Mountain Avens along the trail. The valley terrain is easily-hiked. After the pass, you descend a gentle downward slope as far as Lake Ikkesjávrre and a stopover cabin.

Please note that the organized boat traffic across lake Mávasjávrre, previously performed by the Camping in Mavas, "Mavas stugby", has been cancelled in 2022, and there are no rowing boats or places where you can wade across. Tourists can try to find boat transport on their own in Mavas by searching on the internet and asking in advance. It is usually not possible to use a cell phone in the area.

Duration: 5-7 hours

Ikkesjávrre–Mavas, 11 km

After the stopover cabin at Ikkesjávrre the trail slowly rises towards a pass. The hiking is easy and in places there are abundant flowers such as Alpine Milkvetch, Mountain Avens, Roseroot, Twoflower Violet, Alpine Veronica and different alpine species of Cichorieae. Tufts of Moss Campion shimmer in pink. Birds make their presence known, above all the Long-tailed Skua and Dotterel. Rough-legged Buzzard and Golden Eagle occur in the area but are not seen so often.

Over the last kilometres, the trail passes through mountain birch forest down towards Lake Mávasjávrre, which is in the catchment basin of Piteälven River. It is a beautiful section, where the glaciers of Sulitelma (Sulidälbmá) can be seen. Here you also see the summit of the Sulitelma (Sulidälbmá) massif, which was long thought to be Sweden's highest, at 1,877 m asl. A little closer in the north-west, we see Áhkáris mountain, 1,315 m asl.

At trail’s end, a few hundred metres from the shore of Lake Mávasjávrre, there is a simple rest shelter. Note that the boat tours across Lake Mávasjávrre, which were earlier operated by Mavas cabin village on the north side of the lake, no longer run. At present, the County Administrative Board therefore has no information about boat transport provided across the lake, nor are there rowing boats or wading places. Hikers wanting to cross the lake are advised to search for boat transport at Mavas on their own initiative. Searching and contacting should be done in advance since mobile coverage on site is poor.

If you wish to continue northwards along the Arctic Trail and on to the STF cabin at Pieskehaure, it is also possible to walk round Mávasjávrre, but there is no marked trail and on the west side of the lake there is a lot of water.

Duration: 3-4 hours