Lofoten - Lofoten

The Lofoten are a group of islands on the northwest coast Norway.

Lofoten
Location of the Lofoten Islands

Regions

The Lofoten are a group of islands in Norway north of the Arctic Circle, the main islands are:

  • Austvågøy
  • Gimsøy
  • Vestvågøy
  • Flakstadøy
  • Moskenesøy
  • Værøy
  • Rust
  • Skrova
  • Store Molla
  • Lille Molla (uninhabited)

In addition, part of Hinnøy and countless small islands belong to the Lofoten Islands.

places

Places in Lofoten
Ballstad

Other goals

A glacier pot near Nesland in Lofoten
  • 1 Nesland - an area formed by the glacier with glacier pots. Because of the insufficient water depth, Nesland was abandoned by the fishermen and left to the tourists. At the end of the village, a hiking trail leads to an area shaped by the glacier. You can clearly see the abrasions that the glacier has left on the rocks. In addition, some glacier pots have formed. Such structures arise when glacier water swirls stones around for a very long time, so that the rock is slowly hollowed out. Some glacier pots are circular with smooth edges, some are also filled with water. Getting there: Near Ramberg towards Å i Lofoten the road branches off from the E10 to Nesland. The place cannot be reached by public transport.

background

The Lofoten are actually a mountain range of overwhelming beauty far out in the sea. One finds a tangle of mountains, lakes, rocks, fjords, fishermen's huts and islands densely packed in a small area. The mountains are on average 500 to 600 meters high, but all have high mountain character. The name "Lofoten" means "the lynx foot".

The islands are of economic importance for fishing, especially for cod. In the cod season from January to April, fishermen come from all over Norway to catch and process the fish. The fish is gutted and hung to dry on special racks. It is then sold to Italy as stockfish. A kilogram of stockfish is worth NOK 200 to 400.

In the summer months the main source of income is tourism.

climate

language

Is the official language Norwegian, but you can get on very well English communicate.

getting there

By plane

There are scheduled flights from Oslo above Bodø to the airport from Svolvær or Leknes. Unfortunately, this type of journey is very expensive.

It is cheaper to travel with the airline's low-cost airline Norwegian to Bodø or Harstad / Narvik. From Bodø you can take the ferry to Røst, Værøy, Moskenes or Svolvær. From Harstad / Narvik there is a bus (Lofotenexpress) to Svolvaer, Leknes and Å i Lofoten.

By boat

Of Bodø ferries operate to Rust, Værøy and Moskenes, moreover about Skrova to Svolvær.

Bodø, Stamsund and Svolvær are also used by the shipping line Hurtigruten started.

The ferry from Narvik to Svolvær was discontinued in 2007.

By train

The nearest train stations are Narvik and Bodø. Narvik is only connected to the Swedish rail network, Bodoe only to the Norwegian. Von Narvik continue by bus (Lofotenexpress), and from Bodø use the ferry.

By bus

Of Narvik buses run to Lofoten (Lofotenexpress). One ride up Svolvær takes about 4 1/2 hours to get up Leknes 6 1/2 hours and up Å i Lofoten 8 hours.

mobility

Plan of the archipelago

Bus and boat

Most places can be reached by bus or boat. The current timetables are available here.

If you wait in the open at a bus stop, as soon as the bus arrives you should stretch out your arm and point your thumb up, otherwise the bus can simply drive past.

If you want to watch the midnight sun, you should rent a car or rent a bike, as these places cannot be reached by bus.

In the street

If you are traveling by car, you should follow a few rules: You have to drive with lights on, even during the day. The alcohol limit is 0.5. Anyone caught with 0.5 per mille or more pays a 1 1/2 month salary penalty. From 1.5 per mille, the driver's license is gone.

Speed ​​limits should be respected. 5 km / h too fast costs 400 NOK fine. The maximum speed in town is 50 km / h, outside 80 km / h, unless otherwise indicated. There are passing points on single-lane roads, which are marked with a capital "M" (möteplass). If you have it easier, you go back there and let the oncoming traffic pass.

There is no toll. The green insurance card is recommended.

By bicycle

As long as you are not on the E10, car traffic is negligible. Southwest of Leknes, the E10 is narrow and inexperienced motorhome drivers do not keep a safe distance if you don't mount a clearly visible spacer on the bike (if necessary, a half-extended telescopic ski pole with a red plastic bag at the end will do).

The tunnel under the Nappstraum is passable, but has a steep incline at the end. When passing the fans, you have to be careful, the headwind or with the wind is considerable and could upset careless cyclists.

Tourist Attractions

Borg Viking Museum
  • Midnight sun: Although this natural spectacle is called the midnight sun, the sun does not reach its lowest level until around 1:00 a.m. due to the summer time. The midnight sun can be observed from May 27th to July 17th. The best places for this are Brenna, Eggum and Ramberg.
  • 2 Borg Viking Museum : on the island of Vestvågøy, on the E10 towards Leknes, approx. 55 km south of Svolvær. Borg was a chief seat of the Vikings, probably first built in the 2nd century AD. During excavations, the remains of a nave were found and the same was reconstructed. In the Viking Age there were over 100 farms with around 1,800 residents.

activities

View from Steinetinden
  • hike: Everyone can move freely in nature without having to rely on marked paths. Probably because of this, the hiking trails are rarely marked or expanded. Often they are nothing more than a beaten track or a line on the map. Hiking tours in Lofoten can be very strenuous, but not because of the distance, but because of the difference in altitude. When you climb a mountain, you start at sea level and then go up steeply. Hiking maps are unfortunately very expensive, but necessary. They can be bought at the tourist information offices in Svolvær, Leknes, Ramberg or Å for NOK 98-140. Sturdy shoes are strongly recommended for the tours. Trekking shoes should be sturdy and waterproof and should be bought from a specialist shop. You shouldn't skimp on this. The clothing should be waterproof and windproof. There is also enough food in the backpack for when you are out and about. Some selected tours:

kitchen

Stockfish

On islands that live from fishing, of course, the food mainly consists of fish, especially cod. However, other fish specialties such as salmon or halibut are also offered in hotels and restaurants. If you have to save, you should book accommodation with a kitchen and prepare your own food. You can fish your own fish or buy it ready to cook in the supermarket.

Tørrfisk (stockfish), i.e. dried cod, is offered as a test pack in tourist information offices and supermarkets. However, the fish is very hard in this form. It should be pounded soft on a stone before removing it from the package. Here you get fish flakes, which are a popular snack for in between with fishermen.

nightlife

security

health

  • 1  Nordlandsykkehuset Lofoten (hospital), Sykehusbakken 23, 8372 Gravdal / Leknes. Tel.: 47 760 60 100. Nordlandkrankenhaus Lofoten is the central hospital for the municipalities of Moskenes, Flakstad, Vestvågøy and Vågan and is located in Gravdal, south of Leknes.

trips

Web links

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