Klaralven Timber Rafting

Logs were floated down the Klaralven to the mills until the practice ended in 1991, and the operators here have kept the technique as something visitors do themselves: you are given the timber and rope, shown the lashing, and you build your own raft over a few hours, then push off and drift. There is no motor. The river moves at roughly two kilometres an hour, so a trip covers modest distances and takes days - two, six, eight, depending on the package - and you camp on the bank each night or sleep on the raft. Steering is by pole and by reading the current. It is the slowest form of travel available in Sweden.

What you actually see

• A raft you lash yourself - timber and rope, no motor.
• A current of about two kilometres an hour - the whole pace of it.
• Camping on the bank each night - or sleeping aboard.
• The old floating route - used until 1991.

When to go

June to August, the operating season. Two to eight days.

Honest expectations

It is genuinely slow and monotonous for some people. Weather is unavoidable - there is no shelter on a raft. Mosquitoes are heavy in summer. Trips must be booked ahead and the season is short.

Nearby

Torsby is south; the Norwegian border is west.