Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you're arriving from Senja by the
Botnhamn-Brensholmen ferry
(
www.senjafergene.no
)
, the vistas as you cross Kvaløya island, heading westwards for
Tromsø, are equally stunning.
LYNGEN ALPS
SomeofthemostruggedalpineheightsinallNorwayruckuptoformthespineoftheheav-
ily glaciated Lyngen Peninsula, east of Tromsø; you get the best views of them from the
eastern shore of 150km-long Lyngenfjord. The peaks, the highest of which is Jiekkevarre
(1837m), offer plenty of opportunities for climbers but this challenging glacial terrain is
strictly for the experienced.
The Lyngsdalen Valley, above the industrial village of Furuflaten, is an altogether more
accessible and popular hiking area. The usual route begins at the football pitch south of the
bridge over the Lyngdalselva and climbs up the valley to the tip of the glacier Sydbreen,
500m above sea level.
The best map for hiking is Statens Kartverk's
Lyngenhalvøya
at 1:50,000.
Senja
Senja, Norway's second-largest island, rivals Lofoten for natural beauty yet attracts a frac-
tion of its visitors (we meandered the length of its northern coastline and saw only two
non-Norwegian vehicles).
A broad agricultural plain laps at Innersida, the island's eastern coast facing the main-
land. By contrast, birchwoods, moorland and sweetwater lakes extend beneath the bare
craggy uplands of the interior. Along the northwestern coast, Yttersida, knife-ridged peaks
risedirectlyfromtheArcticOcean.Here,theRv86andRv862,declaredaNationalTourist
Route, link isolated, still-active fishing villages such as Hamn and Mefjordvær and traffic
is minimal. The now flat, mildly bucking road, almost always within sight of the shore, is
a cyclist's dream. On the way, pause at the
Tungeneset viewing point
and scramble over
broad slabs of weathered rock to savour the spiky peaks to the west and, eastwards, more
gently sculpted crests.
Hamn i Senja
TOURIST VILLAGE €€
( 77 85 98 80;
www.hamnisenja.no
; s/d Nkr890/1100, 1/2-bed apt Nkr1390/1440;
)
On the site of a former fishing hamlet, Hamn i Senja is a delightful, self-contained, get-
away-from-it-all place that sits in its own little cove. Everything's smart and new, rebuilt
