Tyresta National Park

Tyresta protects one of the largest tracts of primeval forest in southern Sweden outside the mountains, on a rift-fractured landscape of long parallel valleys and rock ridges - the ground itself sets the pattern. Pines over four hundred years old stand in it, along with the dead standing timber and fallen trunks that most managed forest lacks and that a great many insects, fungi and woodpeckers depend on. A serious fire in August 1999 burned about a tenth of the national park and its surrounding reserve, some 450 hectares, and the burnt ground has been left to recover, which is now a study area in its own right. The national park, created in 1993, covers about 20 square kilometres, with a further 27 of nature reserve around it. Marked trails run from Tyresta village where a naturum visitor centre explains the site.

The landscape

• Pines over four hundred years old - primeval forest, unlogged.
• Rift valleys and rock ridges - the fracture pattern of the bedrock.
• The 1999 burn - left to recover and studied since.
• A naturum at Tyresta village - the trailhead and centre.

When to go

May to October; autumn colour in September. A full day.

What to expect

Trails are rough, rocky and wet in places - proper footwear matters. It is busy at weekends given the proximity to Stockholm. The naturum has limited winter hours. Mosquitoes are heavy in early summer.

Nearby

Tyreso palace is north; Hanveden is west.

Key facts