Exploring Höga Kusten - The Swedish High Coast

To be honest, I had never heard of the Swedish High Coast before traveling to the country. The High Coast, or Höga kusten, is a UNESCO World Heritage site for its geologic significance. The coast along the Baltic Sea was once covered in a glacier and since its retreat 10,000 years ago, the land has been rebounding upward, like a weigh off its shoulders. The results are high bluffs overlooking the sea and lakes 200 meters above the shoreline. The 10 km hike felt like four hikes in one, with dense rich moss covered forests, boulder fields and exhausting stretches of steep terrain.

The lakes along the coastline are unusually high above the sea, resulting in a disorienting view from the top of the mount. The trails would often lead in unexpected ways, sometimes right along the waters, from boulder to boulder,

During the final hour of the hike we were met with rain, which made our pass through the narrow ravine dark and eerie. The real magic was when we got to the top and were met with a beautiful rainbow over the sea with a view of the lake we hike along hours earlier.