They fall in the heart of the Laponian Area, the huge World Heritage landscape of northern Sweden that takes in Sarek, Padjelanta, Stora Sjöfallet and Muddus, and most of it is roadless wilderness of glaciers, braided rivers, birch forest and bare peaks above two thousand metres. The Sami have herded reindeer through it for thousands of years, following the seasons from the high pastures down to the forests, and the protection of the area is as much about that living culture as about the nature.
What you can ride is the edge of it. From Jokkmokk, a town just north of the Arctic Circle, a road runs west along the Lule river valley to Kvikkjokk, about a hundred kilometres of good surface through spruce and bog where moose step out of the trees at dusk. From Gällivare a road leads up past Porjus and its old hydropower station to the great dammed lakes near Stora Sjöfallet and on to Ritsem, where the tarmac ends beside the mountains. Both are long dead-end rides, which means you retrace your wheel tracks, but the northern light on the water and the open birch slopes make the return feel different.
Jokkmokk holds a famous winter market in early February, a tradition going back to the seventeenth century, when the Sami traded here. In summer it is quieter, and the Ájtte museum is a good place to understand the mountain people and their land. The air smells of resin and cold water, and mosquitoes in July are fierce, so bring repellent and keep your visor down at stops. In the autumn the colours on the hillsides are astonishing and the bugs are gone.
Fuel is the thing to plan. Stations are in Jokkmokk and Gällivare, and the distances between them and the dead-end roads are real, so top up before you turn off the main road and carry a little spare. Reindeer wander freely on the roads and often stand in the middle of a bend, so slow down in the open country and be ready to stop. Sweden's right of public access lets you camp and walk almost anywhere, which is lovely, but respect the reindeer fences and the herders at work.