Fulufjellet National Park

Where most mountains end in sharp peaks, Fulufjellet just goes flat. It is a broad plateau of reddish Trysil sandstone on the far eastern edge of Trysil, cut into three parts by the rivers Bergåa and Gira, and its highest point, Slottet, only reaches 1.047 m. The Norwegian park was protected in 2012 and covers 82,5 km². It joins the much bigger Fulufjället National Park in Sweden. No reindeer graze here, which is why the lichen lies thick and pale over the plateau. Down on the slopes grow old spruce and pine, some of the pines up to 400 years old. Bears den on both sides of the border, but they keep to the deep forest. The bird you will meet is the Siberian jay, the park's symbol, which often comes close.

Local knowledge: the border has never stopped people here. Several old roads between Norway and Sweden cross the park and are now walking paths. The oldest is Särnvegen, which runs north–south from Kjørdalengrende via Girdalssetra and Fulunebben and over to the Swedish side. It dates from before 1644, when Jämtland and Härjedalen still belonged to Norway, and was used by the people around for trade – some say pilgrims walked it too. Another path, Altarringvegen, climbs from Bergådalen over the border northeast of Slottet to Altarringen, a stone ring on the Swedish side. Nobody knows for sure what it was: an old offering place, say some, a falcon catchers' site, say others.

Visiting: take Rv 25 to Østby and Fv 564 to Ljørdalen (or Rv 25 to Støa and Fv 570), then Fulufjellvegen past Fulufjellet alpine centre to the Brynflået car park at Storbekkåsen. From here a marked trail climbs to the border cairns on Brynflået, with stone steps on the steepest part. In winter this is the only groomed ski track on the Norwegian side. At Bråtåfallet in Bergådalen there is a rest area by the falls. There are no huts on the Norwegian side. The shared visitor centre, Naturum Fulufjället, is in Sweden next to Njupeskär, one of Sweden's highest waterfalls. Keep dogs on a lead from 1 April to 20 August, and don't build new cairns. More on the park's official page.