Jukkasjärvi, the village on the Torne River

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Jukkasjärvi has its roots in the 17th century and counts among the oldest villages in Norrbotten. It grew where the Torne River passes close to the lake Sautusjärvi, a good base for fishing and for trade. Its name comes from the Sámi word Čohkkiras, roughly a meeting place by the water. For a long time, the families of the priest and the bell-ringer were the only people living here, and new farms only came in the 18th century.

How many people live here today depends on whom you ask: about 800 according to Kiruna Lapland, about 900 according to the Icehotel. The tourist office adds that the village is also home to more than 1,000 dogs. The distance from Kiruna also varies by source, between 15 and 18 km, and the airport is about 15 minutes away by car.

Jukkasjärvi church

The red timber church is the oldest in the province of Lappland. The parish dates its central part to around 1607. The choir and porch were added when the church was rebuilt in 1726, the free-standing bell tower followed in the 1740s and the organ gallery was finished in 1785. The walls use a timber-box construction that, according to the parish, survives nowhere else in Sweden. When the floor was lifted during repairs in 1907, it uncovered 87 graves underneath.

The altarpiece is a triptych carved in teak by Bror Hjorth. LKAB, the mining company, gave it to the church for its 350th anniversary in 1958. A figure of Christ stands in the centre, and the side panels show scenes from the life of the priest Lars Levi Laestadius. Hjorth also wanted a font for the church, and a villager, Vilhelm Isaksson, made it using nothing but an axe. The organ from 1997 is made of curly birch, reindeer antler and raw-tanned hide. The artist Lars-Levi Sunna decorated its front, and the stops carry signs taken from Sámi mythology.

The church is open every day of the year. The parish gives 09:00 to 15:00, Kiruna Lapland 10:00 to 15:00, so plan your visit for 10:00 to 15:00.

The old homestead

Parts of the older farm settlement still stand in the oldest part of the village, among them the homestead, whose oldest building is a timber cottage from 1736. Today the Icehotel runs a restaurant there called The Old Homestead, with a rustic menu and oven-baked pizza by the fire in winter. According to the Icehotel it is closed for the season and reopens in November 2026.

Márkanbáiki and Sámi culture

Nutti Sámi Siida is a Sámi tourism company based on the old Sámi market place of Jukkasjärvi, a short walk from the Icehotel. Its open-air museum, Márkanbáiki, covers Sámi culture and traditions, the nomadic way of life and the history of reindeer herding. You can feed reindeer by hand, eat a Sámi lunch in the large café hut and look at crafts in the shop. The museum is open daily from 10:00 to 16:00, and until 14:00 on 24 December.

Winter is the season to see the herd here. Nutti keeps reindeer at the museum, at its lodge and on its activities in winter, moves the whole herd away from the village in spring, and has only a few animals at the museum in summer. Its reindeer were all born in the wild, and the company warns that they can run, jump, kick or strike with their antlers when they feel cornered, so follow the staff's instructions. In the winter season Nutti also serves dinner in its restaurant Ovttas and offers tours where you drive your own draft reindeer.

A reindeer host outside the village is the other option. With Arctic Sáivvu, whose host comes from a reindeer herding family, you drive about 20 minutes from Kiruna to a camp near Jukkasjärvi for sledding and Sámi food by the fire. The two-hour outing by Aurora Rivercamp reaches a reindeer corral in Jukkasjärvi in a sleigh pulled by a snowmobile, and you feed the animals over the fence. Our page on reindeer and Sámi culture explains how these visits differ.

The Icehotel next door

The Icehotel was first built in 1989 from river ice, and it is rebuilt every winter, open from mid-December until mid-April before it melts back into the Torne. ICEHOTEL 365, a permanent building with an ice bar and art suites, stays open all year, and a shop and a restaurant sit alongside. Day tickets, guided tours and nights on ice are covered on our Icehotel page.

Half-day tours from Kiruna often combine the hotel with the village. The three-hour tour by Scandinavian Sami Photoadventures includes the Sámi museum with its reindeer and a guided walk through Jukkasjärvi, and the description mentions the old church. Lights of Vikings includes entry tickets for the hotel and the museum and stops at the church.

On the river and up Puimonen

When the Torne freezes you can go out on the river on skis or snowshoes, or follow the lit ski trails of 5 km and 10 km through the forest. The Icehotel rents out equipment and hands out maps and tips. For a view over the village and the river, walk up Puimonen, the village's own small hill: follow the lit trail from the football field for about 30 to 45 minutes. In winter the path usually follows a packed snowmobile track, but Kiruna Lapland warns that this is not guaranteed, so snowshoes help.

For families, Camp Caroli tows a sled with a roof that can be closed around the frozen lake and the river at Jukkasjärvi, behind the guide's snowmobile, for groups of up to five. The same company runs two hours of ice fishing on a lake near the village, with the catch grilled over a fire. More ideas for children are on our page about Kiruna with kids.

Husky kennels sit close by as well. Jukkasjärvi Vildmarks Turer collects guests in Kiruna and in Jukkasjärvi, and a small family kennel near the Icehotel takes no more than four guests at a time.

Getting there

By car, take the E10 out of Kiruna and follow the signs for Jukkasjärvi. Without a car, Länstrafiken Norrbotten bus 501 runs to the village. You pay by card on board, and there are fewer departures at weekends, so check the timetable for the return. In winter the Icehotel offers its own transfer, which has to be booked by 15:00 on the day before. Many tours from Kiruna list the Icehotel as a pickup point, which makes the village an easy base for evening outings.

If you have a car, the Esrange Space Center lies about 25 km from Jukkasjärvi, according to Kiruna Lapland. The site itself is closed to the public, but an unstaffed visitor centre at the gate opens every day from 08:00 to 18:00, and no public transport goes there.