What makes archipelago hiking so special?

​

What makes archipelago hiking something special is the rocky landscape, the views over the sea and islands, the untouched forests, and finally, there is no traffic and noise because many of the islands are car-free. It provides a unique hiking experience that differs from hiking in the Danish countryside at the same time that the journey up there is comfortable and can be done in a few hours.

Unique and varied rock landscape

The rocky landscape and the 7,000 islands make the landscape different from the typical flat Danish landscape. And because many of the islands and large parts of Bohuslän are nature reserves, no trees have been felled here in the past 100 years. It provides a beautiful and varied landscape.

​

View of the Skagerrak and deep fjords

The landscape contains thousands of islands and deep fjords. In the area around Skaftö you can see Gullmarsfjorden and Åbyfjorden, both of which offer beautiful hiking routes with great views. The Gullmarsfjord is Sweden's only threshold fjord. The fjord is 40 meters deep at the inlet from Skagerrak - and up to 120 meters deep further in. There is a passenger ferry across the Gullmarsfjord between Fiskebäckskil on Skaftö and Lysekil, which is part of the mainland to the north. 

​

Idyllic fishing lodges

Bohuslän has a long fishing tradition and the small cozy fishing lodges have been preserved. Here there are well-maintained wooden houses, narrow streets and delicious restaurants. On Skaftö, there are three smaller fishing grounds: Grundsund, located at the extreme western part of the island, Fiskebäckskil on the northern side of the island and Rågårdsvik to the south. The famous singer Evert Taube spent a lot of time on the neighboring islands of Flatön and Ängön and his maternal uncle was the lighthouse keeper at the lighthouse on Skaftö's southernmost part, Islandsberg Huvud, and the Bohuslän rocks and sea are extensively described in Taube's songs.  

​

Part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway

Bohuslän has been more Danish than Swedish. It was part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway until the Peace of Roskilde in 1658, when King Frederik the Third had to cede i.a. Bohuslän, Skåne, Halland and Blekinge to Sweden. Bohuslän was a border area, and there was frequent war between Denmark-Norway and Sweden from approx. 1200 to the 18th century. On the way you can see Bohus Fästning just outside Gothenburg, which was built by Denmark-Norway in the 14th century to defend the area against the Swedes, and in Marstrand you can see Carlstens Fästning, which the Swedes built immediately after they won the area back in 1658 .Tordenskjold succeeded  in recapturing Carlstens Fästning and Marstrand, but Denmark had to give up getting the area back, as great powers such as England and France preferred Scandinavia to be divided into several smaller countries, rather than one dominant country. Since then, there has been peace in Bohuslän for over 300 years. In the archipelago, you will learn about a more unknown part of Danish history.

​​

​