Photograph to comeCortijada Los Gázquez
Almería · Sleeps 1 or more
A wholly off-grid farmhouse retreat in the Sierra María-Los Vélez natural park, run on sun, wind and wood.
€
- Off-grid
- Solar-powered
- Dark skies
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Photographs by Kolarbyn Eco Lodge, used with permission.
Kolarbyn Ecolodge
Skinnskatteberg, Svealand
Turf-roofed charcoal-burners' huts by a forest lake, with no electricity, no shower and a floating sauna.
Why we love it
Kolarbyn calls itself Sweden's wildest hotel and it has a fair claim. The huts are kolarkojor — the shelters charcoal burners used to live in while tending their kilns — dug into a slope by Lake Skärsjön and roofed with turf. There is no electricity. You draw water from a spring, chop your own wood for the stove and the sauna, and wash in the lake.
Two hours from Stockholm, ten minutes from a railway station. The gap between those facts and the experience is the whole appeal.
Best for: finding out how little you actually need for two nights
Worth knowing
- Washing up and washing yourself both happen at the stream. The two outdoor privies and the single basic rinse-down room are shared by everyone on site, and drinking water is fetched from a spring in the woods.
- Not a place for a wheelchair or for limited mobility: the paths are uneven with tree roots and there are three steps up to the privy.
- There is no staffed reception. Check-in is at a fixed slot in the afternoon, the guided tour is compulsory for guests of every age, and nobody is on site in the evening or overnight.
The practicalities
- Wifi
- None
- Bring
- A torch or head lamp
- A power bank — there is no electricity to charge a phone
- Warm clothes and base layers, wool or synthetic rather than cotton
- A sleeping bag, pillow and towel, or hire a full set from the lodge
- Rubber boots or hiking shoes
- Included
- Two hours in the shared floating sauna, which you light and clean yourself
- Kitchen equipment in the shared store — pans, pots, plates, cutlery and kåsor
- Extras
- A dog — 150 SEK
- Private sauna for two hours — 200–400 SEK
- Wood-fired forest bath by the lake for the evening — 1,000–1,250 SEK
- Canoe or rowing boat for a half day — 300 SEK
- Family fishing permit for Skärsjön — 200 SEK
Getting there
- Nearest station
- Skinnskatteberg — 2.5 miles
- Without a car
- Possible
Kolarbyn is about 4 km south-east of Skinnskatteberg on road 233, signposted from the road, with free parking about 75 m from the huts. Skinnskatteberg's bus and railway station is about 4 km away; the operator says the remaining 4 km is an easy walk but can feel long with a lot of luggage, and publishes a map of the route. A bus towards the Skärsjön stop gets you closer but runs only a few times a day, and taxis can be ordered. From Stockholm the operator gives a little over three hours: train to Avesta or Fagersta, then bus 500 to Skinnskatteberg.
What is around it
Shops
- The grocery shop in Skinnskatteberg · 2.5 miles — The operator names it as the nearest food shop, about 4 km away.
Towns
- Skinnskatteberg · 2.5 miles — The nearest village, with the bus and railway station and an EV charger.
Stations
- Skinnskatteberg bus and railway station · 2.5 miles
Who runs it
Malin Bruce
Malin Bruce has run Kolarbyn since 2017 and is the third owner since it began in the late 1980s. She signs the lodge's own pages as Malin Bruce with her hosts.
Where it is
Checked August 2026 · We re-verify prices and opening every quarter.
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