Ajtte Museum

Ajtte opened in 1989 as the national museum for Sami culture and for the mountain region, and it holds the largest collection of Sami material in the country - dress, silver, drums, tools, reindeer husbandry equipment - along with exhibitions on the mountain environment, the national parks of Laponia and the history of the area. The building is laid out in wedge-shaped rooms radiating from a centre. A mountain garden outside grows the flora of the fells. Jokkmokk's winter market, held in the first week of February since 1605, is the other reason people come, and the museum is central to that week.

What you actually see

• The largest Sami collection in Sweden - dress, silver, drums, tools.
• Exhibitions on Laponia - the mountain region and its parks.
• A mountain flora garden - the plants of the fells outside.
• The February market - held since 1605.

When to go

June to August, or February for the market. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

Winter hours outside market week are short. Market week fills every bed in Jokkmokk months ahead. The museum is dense and needs time. It is well north of the Arctic Circle with the light to match.

Nearby

Laponia and Sarek are west; Porjus and the Lule river are north.