Nature preserveSweden · SE
Nyvallens naturreservat
At the foot of the great solitary mountain Sonfjället, Nyvallen is a rare thing in Sweden: a mountain shieling, or fäbod, that has been in continuous use since the early 1700s and still lives and works today. Free-ranging mountain cattle and goats drift through the open mountain-birch forest, scythe-mown meadows blaze with wildflowers, and a cluster of hand-planed log buildings—fäbod cottage, cowsheds, cookhouse and hay stores—makes the whole scene feel like stepping into a working chapter of Härjedalen's past. The surrounding land was set aside as a nature reserve in 1992 to protect both this living cultural landscape and the wild mountain-nature around it. For hikers, Nyvallen is also one of the main gateways into Sonfjället National Park, which wraps around the reserve on three sides. That makes it an ideal base for a mountain walk with a cultural twist: you can watch traditional farming at the shieling, browse the on-site nature-information exhibition about the park, and then head up onto the fells where the park begins.