The purpose of the impregnation stage is to ensure that cooking chemicals reach all parts of the chips. However, as alkali comes into contact with wood, reactions take place, which alter the paths available for ionic transport and dissolve wood components. The aim of the present study is to establish the most favorable impregnation conditions, which result in an even alkali concentration profile through the chip at a sufficiently high level without extensive yield losses due to peeling. Softwood chips were subjected to different impregnation conditions. The progress of impregnation was assessed by analyzing the concentration of hydroxide ions in the bound liquor inside wood chips and the release of acetic acid. The extent of undesired reactions was measured as the amount of carbohydrate degradation products formed and amount of wood dissolved. Increased temperature and time lead to more degradation of the carbohydrates during impregnation. At high temperature, the concentration of alkali in the bound liquor was lower due to higher alkali consumption in degradation reactions. The most favorable process is to perform impregnation at an elevated initial effective alkali (EA) for a short time. This resulted in an increased alkali concentration in the bound liquor within the chip without extensive carbohydrate degradation.