Tiveden National Park
Tiveden is a national park in Sweden. On the territory of the park there are the most ancient, untouched areas of the Tiveden forest. This area is located between 2 lakes: Venern and Wettern. In addition to the impenetrable forests in the park, you can find rocky territory, sometimes overgrown with forests.
The Tiveden forest lies on granite cliffs. Earlier, 1-1.4 billion years ago, the movement of the earth's crust led to the formation of Lake Wettern, and the park area was covered with cracks. In the plains and crevices, the rocks collapsed due to erosion, forming lakes in which the nearest granite mountains are proudly reflected. Glaciers 11,000 years ago greatly changed the terrain, scattering huge boulders throughout the Tiveden Park, which make it difficult for travelers to move. The glacier took light rock with it, exposing granite slabs in places, and in places you can see the furrows left by boulders during the movement of the glacier.
Flora and fauna of the park Tiveden is quite poor because the soil is scarce. The trees are mainly pines, aspen, spruce, dwarf birch, yagel and hazel grow in places. Almost the entire area near Stenkell grew after a major fire in 1835. Of the mammals in the park, you can meet deer, moose, fox, badger, marten, squirrel. There are many capercaillies, woodpeckers, and other birds here.
No one has ever built towns and villages on today's lands of the Tiveden National Park. Only temporary camps of lumberjacks and charcoal burners have been found. In ancient times, roads were built here through the marshes, which are still well preserved.
Impenetrable evergreen forests and hilly landscapes with clear lakes create a feeling of primeval desolation. From the top of Trollkirkobergen Mountain, you can see stunning views, as if from a fairy tale. Caves can be found on the slopes of the mountain, where scientists have found traces of human habitation. The most popular of them is Stenkella, where a pagan altar was discovered.
There are 25 hiking trails for visitors to Tiveden Park, passing through the most interesting places. The park's management attaches great importance to environmental protection measures. So visitors should take into account that it is forbidden to ride a bicycle in the park, and it is also forbidden to build a campfire and harm animals and plants. The excursions mostly go through the boulders in Steenkell to the Trollchurkubergen mountains and end at Witsand Beach.
