Lofoten islands of Norway is one of those places where one can literally feel that he is at the far edge of this world. Especially if this is his first
visit to Europe and he is looking for someplace remote, rugged, wild with
otherworldly charm and beauty. Guess what, Lofoten islands fitted the bill perfectly
and didn’t disappoint at all!
Once at Lofoten Norway one can travel through miles of
the breath-taking landscape without finding a single soul around and still
manage to feel completely safe. While driving here everyone will have that constant
urge to pull over his vehicle every 5 minutes and capture the landscape.
Everybody must witness the 2 most stunning phenomenon of the
midnight sun and northern lights that occur in Lofoten Norway.
What are Lofoten Islands?
Lofoten is an archipelago located in the northern part of
Norway well above the Arctic circle. It has seven major islands Moskenesøy,
Flakstadøy, Vestvågøy, Austvågøy, Gimsøy, Værøy and Røst. Each one of these
islands has a distinct charm to them. They consist of tiny picturesque fishing
villages with red fishing huts called Rorbu/Rorbuer, dramatic pointed mountain
peaks, calm arctic ocean and beaches, numerous hiking paths, skiing spots,
kayaking (only during summer months), Viking history museum, Cod fishing
museums etc.
Lofoten archipelago is relatively small compared to the
diversity of the landscape it has to offer. East to west it takes about 4 to 5
hours to traverse through the main islands, leaving Værøy and Røst which needs
a boat to reach. All the islands of Lofoten are connected by European highway
e10 which even continues to Sweden.
Road Trip across Lofoten Islands……
To do a road trip through Lofoten islands you can choose
any place as your base or just start the journey and stay in a different
village each day as you move along. If you are comfortable pitching a tent then
that is the best way since you don’t need to worry about getting to the
accommodation by night. Most places have strict check-in times after which no
one will be present to check you in.
Though there are public buses along e10, anywhere off the
main road it will be difficult to reach if you rely on public transport.
Lofoten islands are best visited in a car where you will have more flexibility
and also stop anywhere and anytime for photography! Though the roads are narrow
they are mostly in good shape. In winters, it can be quite difficult with snow
and slippery roads just like anywhere else during winter. Once you are
comfortable with these roads it is quite easy since there will hardly be any traffic
in the village roads except in peak summer months.
Coming to the places of interest or things to do here,
there are plenty of options. Every nook and corner is amazingly beautiful. You
can even just drive randomly and spend time wherever you like the most. There
are plenty of beaches, some are reachable by car and some only by the hike and
others need a boat.
Beaches of Lofoten Islands Norway
Some of the beaches reachable by road which we visited
include:
Haukland beach – This is a famous beach with typical
white sand and blue waters and is quite stunning to watch the sunset. Arctic
waters even in spring or summer are too cold for a comfortable swim. So, we
just ended up strolling along the shore and rocks admiring the pristine beauty
and soaking in it.
Unstad beach – Very scenic beach with small boulders
on the sides and white sandy section in the middle and pretty mountains in the
background. This beach is famous for surfing as well. Unstad beach is my
personal favorite too, one can never get bored spending time here.
You can sit on small boulders on the sides and it gives
numerous photography opportunities from different perspectives.
Uttakleiv beach – One of the most beautiful beaches,
which is quite famous for camping be it for watching midnight sun or aurora
since the horizon is open at the north while the other sides are covered with
mountains. My favorite activity here was just to sit and stare at the horizon
and the mountains forgetting everything and contemplating the meaning of life
(chuckles).
Eggum Beach – This is famous among campers for
watching the midnight sun. While approaching the beach from the village you can
see beautiful rocky pebbled edges along the sea.
Yttersand beach – This looked like a very calm beach
which was almost flat (probably that was a low tide), waves were hardly
noticeable but beautiful nonetheless.
The island of Gimsøya has very pretty tiny
beaches with stunning blue color along the northern coast which are very much
worth visiting. I loved every bit of drive through this scenic little island
and made me feel I’m literally at a fairyland!
Other Beaches
It must be worth visiting for sure, which
include Kvalvika beach along with hiking a peak (Ryten) next to
it, Horseid beach and Bunes beach (need to take a boat from
the mainland).
Other famous and scenic fishing villages to visit
include Å – yes that’s the name of a village. Å is the last letter in
Norwegian alphabet and hence the name of the last village of Lofoten!, Reine,
Hamnøy, Ballstad, Stamsund, Henningsvᴂr, Nusfjord etc Nusfjord has the most
scenic road leading to it and was the most beautiful fishing village as well.
From the village Å, you can see the islands of Røst and Vaᴂrøy as tiny pearls
along the ocean.
Lofoten archipelago being well above the arctic circle
has mild weather conditions. Other places located at the same latitude in
Canada and Russia have very harsh weather conditions and largely uninhabited.
Lofoten islands can be visited throughout the
year. February to April is the best month for watching northern
lights. Visit from June to August if you like islands to
look greener with long days. September to October is for
the colorful autumn and also the chance of witnessing northern
lights. From the end of May to mid of July, midnight sun can be witnessed.
