Part V： Lofoten to Tromso
The west coast of North Norway is a paradise for travel lovers.
Nordland is a county in North Norway. It has an endless rugged coastline with thousands of islands. Lofoten archipelagos (islands) especially have astonishing landscape - the dramatic combination of the unique mountain peaks by the blue sea, the colorful fishing villages and the peaceful beaches.
The famous Lofoten was our first stop in North Norway. We followed the direction of the web site “Norway’s Tourist Routes” (https://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en/routes/lofoten ) and did our 5 day self-driving in Lofoten Islands, which was quite a life time experience.
Lofoten from the sky
Though Lofoten is one of the best places to watch the northern light, its summer is also fantastic. The temperature is comfortable and the water is so green! Since all the roads are open in the summer, one can easily visit most of the islands. The only disadvantage of visiting here in the summer is that you can hardly catch the twilight (giving best photos), because the sun never sets.
We flew into the capital of Lofoten, Svolvær on July 2, 2019 and drove through most of the islands and scenic spots in Lofoten, including Grunnfor, Eggum, Leknes, Ballstad, Nusfjord, Ramberg, and Reine.
The red line on the map is E10, European Route 10, that connects all the islands in Lofoten.
Arriving Svolvear
This is a really small airport. We picked up our rental car upon arrival and drove out of Svolvær on the same day.
Kabelvåg Church
Immediately outside of Svolvær, there is Kabelvåg Church. it was also nicknamed as the “Lofoten Cathedral”. According to Wikipedia, “This has been a church site since the 12th century… Five or six different churches have been built on this very location throughout the last 900 years.” “This present church was built in 1898 to be large enough to accommodate all the fishermen who came to Kabelvåg each season.”
A church in Svolvear
Unique seaside mountains and colorful cabins on the sea shore is a typical scenery in Lofoten.
What caught our attention first was Norwegian’s interesting fishing industry. Dried fish heads were every where to catch the attention of tourists.
Fish farm (above and below)
The red rorbuors (above) are everywhere in Lofoten. They used to be fishing huts during the fishing season. Now, many of them were turned into vacation rental cabins.
In Lofoten, there are many of these bridges (above) which connect island to island.
From Svolvear (Svolvær), we first drove northwest to Eggum, a fishing village lies on the seaside of Vestvågøy island.
There is a gate at the entrance of Eggum village. Some 100 NOK entrance fee was required. We debated whether to enter or not, but were glad that we did. The lush meadows with blooming wild flowers between mountains and the sea took our breath away.
There is some sort of stone structure like an amphitheater in the end of the road. Many people were picnicking and camping there or waiting for sunset.
Near Eggum, there is another seaside village, Unstad, that is also very beautiful!
Coming back from the north shore, we drove by the town of Leknes in the central area of Lofoten. It is a prosperous town as the trade and shopping center of Lofoten where you can easily find lodging and restaurants.
This lake near Leknes is so beautiful with a small boat docking in the center.
Driving from one place to another also means you experience the drastically different landscape, from peaceful meadows and swamps to dramatic mountain scenery..
From Leknes to Ballstad
Where we stayed for the first night in Lofoten is a fishing village called Ballstad. This is such a tranquil and beautiful place!
It was sunny when we arrived Svolvear, but it started raining in the evening when we were looking for a place to stay. (I lost my hotel reservation)
The rain stopped the next morning.
From Ballstad to Reine.
On the second day in Lofoten, we came to Reine, the most important photo destination in Lofoten.
Reine is a fishing village situated on a promontory just off E10 .
Reine has been selected as the most beautiful Norwegian village in late 1970s by a Norwegian magazine, Allers.
A magnificent photograph over Reine from the mountain Reinebringen ( 448 m above sea level) has been used as a classic portrait of Reine by several travel magazines. Unfortunately, hiking that mountain is not suitable for us. Using a drone to take the pictures of Reine provided some sort of compensation for us.
We’ve got one and a half sunny days in Lofoton, which allowed us to record the amazing color contrast of this beautiful place.
Reine
Above and below are Rostad Roebuer, a place we stayed in Reine for one night.
The surroundings of Rostad Rorbuer were very nice, except our cabin wasn’t too good.
View from the cabin
Dried fish heads
The above and below are the views from Hamnøy Bridge that is perhaps the most popular photography location in Lofoten. Looking over a collection of red Rorbus with the Festhelltinden mountain looming behind .
The second night in Reine, we stayed in a rental house in Reinehalsen, which was much better! Below are the views from the house.
3 am after sunrise
After exploring the south part of Lofoten Islands, we started to head back to the central and northern areas of Lofoten Islands. Before reaching Nusfjord, we first hit Ramburg a hub town sitting on the main road, E10.
Ramberg
The long white sand beach and the green water make Ramberg like a paradise.
Ramberg fish farm
After Ramberg, we made a right turn on E10, a country road led us to Nusfjord, a famous historical fishing village.
Road to Nusfjord
Nusfjord is one of the oldest fishing villages in the Lofoten Islands. Buildings in the village can date back to 1800s or early 1900s. Tucked behind a huge rock, the village is situated in a calm bay, tranquil and cozy. It is now a tourism destination with all the fishing huts remodeled into vacation rentals.
Historical buildings became the nesting sites for gulls.
Today’s Nusfjord village is used as an open-air museum, complete with a cod liver refinery, fish market, and stores that sell various historical artifacts.
In the village there is a wonderful restaurant where, for the first time, we tasted a whale stake that was really delicious.
Whale hunting is an old tradition in North Norway, where food is scarce in winter. Today, small scale of whale hunting is still remaining. People are allowed to consume some whale meat.
Whale stake
After Nusfjord, we spent a night in Svolvær and prepared for leaving Lofoten Islands.
Hanningsvear, Lofoten
North to Svolvear, we explored two more pretty spots, Grunnfør (beaches, swamps and birds) and Austnesfjorden.
July 6, from Lofoten, we drove northward to Andenes, the northernmost tip of Vesterålen islands.
Although under the shadow of Lofoten, the remote Vesterålen islands still awed us.
From Andenes, we got on the car ferry to go to Senja, another wonderland of North Norway.
Senja is also on the list of the 18 National Tourist Routes. Following the direction of the website, https://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en/routes/senja, we drove through the spots of highlight such as Gryllefjord, Skaland and Tungeneset.
Gryllefjord
After spending days in Lofoten and Vesterålen islands, we still find Senja very special and attractive! Its blue fjords, sculptural rocks, and colorful villages made us regret not having enough time here.
Hotel Hamn I in Gryllefjord near the ferry dock would be a very nice place to stay . The location is convenient and the surrounding is so beautiful! Unfortunately, we didn’t have a reservation there.
Gryllefjord
Skaland
Skaland
Tungeneset (below) is one of the most impressive attractions we visited in Norway. It lies on the tip of the promontory between the Steinsfjord and the Ersfjord. A nice wooden walkway leads out over the rocks to provide a view to the Northern Sea in the west and the mountain Oksen with the sharp peaks in the north.
Tungeneset
Tungeneset
Tungeneset
Senjahopen
After spending a day in Senja, we took ferry from Botnhamn (east side of Senja) and sail to Brensholmen, then drove to Tromso.
We arrived Tromso on July 7, 2019.
Kvaløysletta near Tromso
Tromso
