Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SULITJELMA
AsaninterpretivepaneljustnorthofFauskewillconfirm,you'reexactlyhalfwayalongthe
E6.Bynow,you'reprobablyeager tostrangle everyslow-moving motorhome driveronits
two-lanehighway,soit'sanappropriatemomenttobreakfreefromtheArcticHighwayfor
a short while.
It's a gorgeous 40km run along the Rv830, up scenic Langvassdalen to the tiny commu-
nity of Sulitjelma. It wasn't always such a backwater; in 1860 a Sami herder discovered
copper ore in the forested country north of Langvatnet and suddenly the Sulitjelma region
was attracting all sorts of opportunists from southern Norway. Large ore deposits were
revealed and the Sulitjelma Gruber mining company was founded in 1891. By 1928 the
wood-fuelled smelter had taken its toll on the surrounding birch forests, as did high con-
centrations of carbon dioxide, a by-product of the smelting process. Nowadays, with the
furnaces long since cold, the environment is well on its way to recovery.
Sights & Activities
Gruvemuseum
MINING MUSEUM
(adult/child Nkr30/10; 11am-5pm daily mid-Jun-mid-Aug, 9am-3pm Mon-Fri rest
of yr)
Alongside the fjord, the Sulitjelma Mining Museum records the area's 100 years of
mining history and displays some awesome rusting equipment.
Besøksgruve
SHOW MINE
(adult/child Nkr200/50)
A one-hour guided tour of the Sulitjelma Show Mine includes a
1.5km rail ride deep into the mountain. In 2010 it was closed for maintenance.
RAGO NATIONAL PARK
The small (171 sq km), scarcely visited Rago National Park is a rugged chunk of forested
granite mountain and moorland, riven with deep glacial cracks and capped by great ice-
fields. Rago, together with the large adjoining Swedish parks, Pakjelanta, Sarek and St-
ora Sjöfjallet, belongs to a wider protected area of 5500 sq km. Wildlife includes not only
beavers in the deep Laksåga (aka Nordfjord) river valley, but also wolverines in the high-
er areas. Along the relatively lush Storskogdalen valley, a series of foaming cascades and
spectacular waterfalls tumble.