Fjätfallen-Kryptjärn, Naturreservat

Here you can experience two majestic waterfalls in the lower reaches of the Fjätälven River. The reserve also includes the old-growth forests leading up to the Kryptjärn mountain pasture and the forest along the Krypan stream. Photo: Lennart Bratt, Dalarna County Administrative Board

​River Sections with Rapid Waters

Along the beautiful riverbanks and in the waterfall area, you’ll find gray alder, green willow, meadow knapweed, and meadow saxifrage. Here you’ll also find alpine plants such as mountain angelica, mountain eyebright, King Charles’s scepter, and black sedge.

East of the southern waterfall are large rock slabs that are washed clean by high water in the spring. Here, the downy pasqueflower grows in the cracks of the rocks. The slopes feature unusual lichen flora, including thread lichen and lung lichen.

A Mosaic of Teeming Diversity

The forest southwest of Kryptjärn is a varied mosaic created by forest fires and windfalls, combined with the area’s small hills, marshes, depressions, streams, and hollows. Coarse, old spruce trees mingle with young trees, and there are many fallen trees everywhere.

This is one of Särna’s most interesting areas for spotting species. Notable species include the small bark beetle, the violet-banded click beetle, the mountain screech, the cream-colored polypore, the rose polypore, the small sooty lichen, and an abundance of dark-headed spike lichen.

Misty Areas with Unique Flora

Near the waterfalls, the forest is constantly damp from the mist created as the water plunges down the cliffs. Here you’ll find the area’s botanical gem, the hairy crustose lichen. It grows primarily on moisture-dripping spruce branches and is joined by the rapids lichen, the olive-brown lichen, and the Norwegian birch lichen.

Log Driving and Fishing Then and Now

The power of the falls was, of course, an asset, but the falls certainly also caused some difficulties, especially for log driving. Beginning as early as 1861, the major forestry companies maintained the log-driving channel in the river for a period up until 1902, when the river was designated as a public log-driving route up to the confluence of the Lillfjätan and Storfjätan rivers. Today, the traces of sawmill and log-driving operations have largely disappeared.

Fishing is very popular and is regulated by the Särna-Idre Fisheries Conservation Area Association. The river is home to trout, grayling, and char, as well as minnow and burbot, and occasionally brook trout, perch, and pike.

Outdoor Recreation

Fjätfallen has long been a popular and well-visited destination. Near the parking lot, there is a trail along the water, as well as a wind shelter with a barbecue area and an outhouse.

All photos: Lennart Bratt, Dalarna County Administrative Board.