Silverfallet

Bjorkliden, Norrbotten County, Sweden

About Silverfallet


Hiking Distance: 400m round trip
Suggested Time: 15-30 minutes

Date first visited: 2019-07-07
Date last visited: 2019-07-07

Waterfall Latitude: 68.40235
Waterfall Longitude: 18.69602

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Silverfallet in Bjorkliden (or more accurately Björkliden) was the second such waterfall named “Silver Falls” that I encountered in Sweden during our epic Sandinavia Trip in 2019.

Unlike the one in Skövde, however, this particular waterfall sat way further north in the Kiruna Lappland (in English, apparently, they spell it like Lapland).

Lappland_046_07072019 - The main drop of Silverfallet in Swedish Lapland
The main drop of Silverfallet in Swedish Lapland

I encountered this falls while making a brief interlude into Sweden from Narvik, Norway.

The area featured several lakes and streams, which I eventually started to wonder if Sweden’s north was kind of like what I’d imagine Minnesota would be like with its take on “the land of a thousand lakes.”

In any case, regarding this waterfall, the Rakkasjokk dropped some 30m before feeding the lake Torneträsk.

The name of the stream reminded me of the Sami presence and influence as they span the international borders of Northern Scandinavia.

Experiencing Silverfallet

After parking the car at a big pullout on the north side of the bridge over Rakkasjokk (see directions below), I then followed a signed trail that went right towards the stream.

Lappland_025_07072019 - Cascades immediately under the road bridge on the Rakkasjokk Stream
Cascades immediately under the road bridge on the Rakkasjokk Stream

At the stream, there were already cascades and rapids in both directions.

The Silverfallet was further downstream, but I did briefly go under the road bridge to see what other things of interest might be in the immediate area (just more rapids and eventually a longer walk towards the village of Björkliden).

Anyways, continuing further downstream along the established path, I continued passing more cascades before reaching a bridge.

Once I was on the bridge, Silverfallet finally revealed its main drop.

Lappland_030_07072019 - Descending to the misty footbridge over the Rakkasjokk Stream
Descending to the misty footbridge over the Rakkasjokk Stream

With the confines of the narrow gorge that the falls plunged into, it definitely threw up lots of mist.

On the other side of the bridge, I saw that they closed off the trail leading back upstream on the opposite side of the Rakkasjokk due to unrailed dropoffs.

That said, I continued further down the trail where I saw access to the stony shore of Torneträsk.

One thing that I regret not doing was that I didn’t explore around the shore of the lake, where I could have explored the narrow gorge and gotten a narrows-like view back towards Silverfallet.

Lappland_055_07072019 - Looking down towards the output of Rakkasjokk as it feeds the lake Torneträsk
Looking down towards the output of Rakkasjokk as it feeds the lake Torneträsk

Oh well, you live and you learn.

Overall, I spent about 35 minutes around the falls, which included all the little exploration that I did.

Lapporten

I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently, I also managed to capture a picture of the Lapporten, or Laponian Mountain Gate.

Of course, since I wasn’t looking for it, the picture wasn’t great as you can see here.

Lappland_020_07072019 - Looking over the road bridge spanning Rakkasjokk and the southern shores of Lake Torneträsk towards Lapporten
Looking over the road bridge spanning Rakkasjokk and the southern shores of Lake Torneträsk towards Lapporten

In any case, Lapporten was a distinct U-shaped valley cut between a pair of mountains in the distance situated somewhat south of Torneträsk Lake.

I managed to get this photo while looking over the road bridge towards the lake.

I also managed to get a different photo of Lapporten while shooting over the top of Silverfallet towards the lake.

Like with other U-shaped valleys around the world, this “bite” out of the mountains was taken by glaciers in the last glacial period.

Lappland_070_07072019 - Looking over cascades approaching the brink of Silverfallet with Lapporten sitting way in the distance
Looking over cascades approaching the brink of Silverfallet with Lapporten sitting way in the distance

The mountain on the left is known as Nissuntjarro while the mountain on the right is known as Tjuonatjakka.

Authorities

Silverfallet was closest to the village of Björkliden, which belonged to the municipality of Kiruna in Norrbotten County, Sweden. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you may want to try the local municipality website.

Lappland_011_07072019 - After leaving the large pullout, I then followed this path to get closer to the Rakkasjokk Stream
Lappland_013_07072019 - I briefly went upstream just to check out what the experience was like (even though Silverfallet was further downstream)
Lappland_017_07072019 - Looking over the E10 and Rakkasjokk towards Lapporten
Lappland_021_07072019 - It appeared that there was another walkway on the opposite side of Rakkasjokk though clearly the side I was on was the more accessible and more popular side
Lappland_026_07072019 - Looking upstream towards some of the intermediate cascades on the Rakkasjokk Stream upstream of Silverfallet
Lappland_032_07072019 - My first look at the front of Silverfallet from the misty footbridge over Rakkasjokk
Lappland_034_07072019 - Looking against the evening sun towards Silverfallet from the far side of the footbridge over Rakkasjokk
Lappland_038_07072019 - Looking downstream from Silverfallet towards the output of Rakkasjokk into Torneträsk
Lappland_048_07072019 - Another look at the misty turbulence of Silverfallet from the footbridge
Lappland_052_07072019 - The footpath continued down the hill on the othe side of the footbridge as it eventually led to the shore of Torneträsk
Lappland_056_07072019 - Looking back towards the footbridge and part of Silverfallet in context
Lappland_064_07072019 - My last look at the front of Silverfallet as the evening Summer sun continues to sink beneath the horizon
Lappland_073_07072019 - Looking upstream on the Rakkasjokk from the E10 road bridge
Lappland_076_07072019 - This was what the view of Rakkasjokk was like from the other side of the E10 bridge
Lappland_079_07072019 - Another look back across the E10 bridge over Rakkasjokk


Since I made my drive from Narvik, I’ll describe the driving directions from there.

So from the city, the most straightward way (i.e. paying tolls) would be to headed north on the E6 for a little over 7km as the road crosses over the long bridge over the Rombaken.

Shortly after the bridge, the E6 junctioned with the E10, which I then turned right to go onto another toll section shortly thereafter.

Lappland_008_07072019 - Looking back at the huge pullout with plenty of room for several cars near the Silverfallet by Björkliden
Looking back at the huge pullout with plenty of room for several cars near the Silverfallet by Björkliden

From there, I’d follow the E10 for about 57km (crossing the border after about 34km).

By that point, there was a large pullout on the left side of the road (the side closer to the lake), and that was where I stopped the car.

If in the off-chance that the large pullout is full, I also saw another pullout (albeit smaller) on the right side of the road just past the bridge over the Rakkasjokk.

Overall, this drive took me about an hour though I was tempted to make many stops along the way.

By the way, if you want to avoid paying the tolls, you have to avoid going over the long bridge over Rombaken on the E6.

Lappland_078_07072019 - If in the off-chance the larger pullout wasn't an option, there's this smaller pullout on the other side of the bridge over Rakkajokk
If in the off-chance the larger pullout wasn’t an option, there’s this smaller pullout on the other side of the bridge over Rakkajokk

That meant, I had to drive on the narrower Rombaksveien around the Rombaken before joining up with the E10 at Trældal.

Then, I’d turn right and follow the E10 as directed above.

Going in the opposite direction, Kiruna would require me to drive northwest on the E10 for about 102km (taking over an hour).

For geographic context, Björkliden was about 71km (about an hour drive) east of Narvik, Norway, and 104km (about 75 minutes drive) northwest of Kiruna.

Find A Place To Stay

Sweep from the bridge of the Silverfallet at Bjorkilden including the attractive lake further downstream

Trip Planning Resources


Nearby Accommodations



Tagged with: bjorkliden, kiruna, norrbotten, sweden, waterfall, lappland, tornetrask, abisko, narvik, e10, lapland, lapporten



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About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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