Bertejaure Farm – storytelling in Lapland
Our farm is situated in the small village of Ammarnäs. We offer accommodation at Vindelaforsen Holiday village, which has five cabins with two bedrooms, kitchen, wc with shower and a large living room in each of them. There are 4 – 8 beds in each cabin and we also have two apartments in the village. All accommodation is equipped for self-catering.
In the area you also find our café – open during holidays and tourists seasons – which is called Kafé Vindelälvan or “the café of the Vindel River Fairy”. The café, set in our beautiful cultural building “Kärlekens Tröskloge”, is a central site in our enterprise.
We are Christina Öster and Urban Berglund, storytellers and tourist guides and also members of the Swedish Organization of Storytelling.
Christina also runs her own business called
Fjällfrö (Mountain Seeds) manufacturing her own different mixed cereals for
porridge out of certified organically growed rye, oats and spelt. These are
named “Porridge of Bertejaure” and “Porridge of the Vindel River”.
The farm is situated in a sub-arctic climate which makes gardening difficult
and the growing of vegetables limited to a selection of plants. For instance: rhubarb is served in
cakes at the café and the Angelica Archangelica is the spice of the “Porridge of
Bertejaure”.
Guided tours can be arranged for families or larger groups, such as “The garden of Flower-Lotta”, “the Art exhibition Skulpturum”, “a Heritage walk of the village of Ammarnäs” or “the story of Ryp-Josef – the 19th century Tradesman”. We also arrange events and excursions together with local businesses and organizations. Vindelaforsens Holiday village is awarded the “Vasterbotten Experience” – certified sustainable tourism according to a global standard – GSTC.
See us on Facebook: @vindelaforsen or our website www.bertejaure.se
Route description:
Follow the road 363 from Umeå along the Vindel River, via Sorsele to Ammarnäs. Or travel the E45 from Gothenburg and Östersund going north until reaching Sorsele. There you turn west and follow the road 363 – now you have only 90 km left of travelling before you reach Ammarnäs.
On arrival in the village of Ammarnäs, turn left at the bus-stop and then immediately turn right to follow the Nolsivägen for 2 km. You are here!
Lake Bertejaure and how to go there.
Lake Bertejaure is situated 10 kilometres east of the Mountain Village of Ammarnäs. You can walk the Georges Road to the area or you can book a Fishing Experience at the Vindelaforsen Cabins.
Please observe that cars are not allowed at the Georges Road. The road was constructed by farmers to make it possible for farmers to take care of their property in the Bertejaure area. Georges Tractor Road starts where the Nolsivägen ends in North Ammarnäs. It follows the shore of Lake Gautsträsk and crosses the Bissan Creek at the Mill, passes the Waterfall of Bissan Creek. From 400 meters above sea level it reaches more than 570 meters before reaching the southern shore of Lake Bertejaure.
The Lake and its surroundings.
Lake Bertejaure lies on a plateau full of birch tree forests preceding the higher mountains. North of the Lake lies Mount Birchtree – Biergenis in Sámi language – and the old Sámi name for the Lake was Birch Tree Lake.
What kind of fish species can we find?
The Lake is the home for Arctic Char and Trout, two species that have always been here. Research in the 1960´s stated that Lake Bertejaure had the best reproduction of Arctic Char in all of Lapland, but warmer climate has made it more difficult for the species in summertime. Arctic Char is often, in warm summer weeks, found resting in deeper areas where water is colder.
Bertejaure Trout has in recent years dominated the Lake in summertime. It comes from smaller streams to be found in every part of the Lake. And Trout has started a new way to behave – it jumps, high somersaults in the air with loud splashing sounds on returning in the waters. Very much appreciated by guests and fishermen. The Bertejaure Trout is a species with strong muscles and gives anglers ferocious fights. Skilled fishermen have told me that half a kilo of Trout in the Lake fights well as much as one Kilo in other places on Earth.
Is it possible for me to catch anything?
Most of the anglers get fish from half a kilo up to one kilo. Now and then I get reports of Trout reaching two kilo being caught. My own experience is from the early 1960´s when my father got a Trout of 5 kilo. I have also heard of a story from old times, when a man should have landed a Trout of eleven kilo – but it was a long time ago
Arctic Char can be found to weigh around half a kilo and a catch weighing two kilos is very rare. My own experience is from being 18 years of age and landing an Arctic Char of two kilos.
Fishing is easiest using a rowing boat.
Our Lake is surrounded by Birch trees and fishing from the shores is impeded by trees and bushes. The easy way is to use a boat, included in a fishing package. Lake Bertejaure consists of three larger areas– East Lake, West Lake and Middle Lake – that are interconnected by narrow straits. This division is also accentuated by bays, small islands and higher ridges that naturally form a landscape filled with “rooms” for fishing on your own. I seldom hear that guests are finding the area crowded although there are neighbouring fishing boats only a hundred meters away.
Fishing in smaller lakes and a small river.
If you like walking, there area around 30 smaller lakes in the area. They may seem small and void of life, but please try them all. One year such a “pond” had a fifteen year old trout in it. Much to the astonishment of my guests.
Another much used and appreciated area is the Creek going to Lake Rakkaure. This small river goes east, leaving Lake Bertejaure and streaming in winding curves to Lake Suttsjaure and in due time – to River Vindelalven. Trout, and sometimes char, can be your fly-fishing catch.
Two licenses in our fishing-packages.
In summertime, our company arranges packages including the two licenses of the area. In this way you are free to go where the winds and weather is most agreeable for the moment. Spoon-fishing, fly-fishing or spin-fishing is possible and you choose what you prefer to use.
Bertejaure Fishing Camp.
A package includes a rowing boat and life vest, lodging in a trapper-cabin equipped for self-catering and an outdoor bbq setting. A fire-wood heated sauna is close to the sandy beach at our “Playa de Bertejaure” and fire-wood and propane for the kitchen stove is included in price. We perform a guided tour from Vindelaforsen Cabins and our parking place in Ammarnäs to the Lake Bertejaure using the tractor-road my father built in 1988 – the Georges Road. All of your luggage and fishing gear can travel with us and we reach the Boat House at the Lake to start our adventure using rowing boats. Our first stop is the cabins on the north shore of the Lake and this trip from Ammarnäs into wilderness is accompanied by your guide, using our time together to inform you of the area, its culture and history and of course where to start fishing. Your stay ranges from three up to seven days and most of the time you are exploring the area on your own.
Winter fishing.
It is possible to arrange a ”Bertejaure winter experience” using snowmobile and the same trapper-cabins to cater for shelter and transport. Depending on the quality of the ice-layer on the Lake and on temperature and wind the tour is varied in order to give you a secure and exciting trip. A wood stove is a powerful tool to warm a cabin and a guided tour includes instructions on how to find water for household purposes in nature, to make a fire and how to keep warm when outdoors doing the ice-fishing.