Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WESTERN FINNMARK
Norway's northernmost mainland county, Finnmark has been inhabited for around 12,000
years,firstbytheKomsahuntersofthecoastalregionandlaterbySamifishingculturesand
reindeer pastoralists, who settled on the coast and in the vast interior, respectively.
Finnmark's wild northern coast, dotted with fishing villages, is deeply indented by grand
fjords,whilethevastinteriorisdominatedbythebroadFinnmarksviddaplateau,astarkwil-
derness with only two major settlements, Karasjok and Kautokeino.
Virtually every Finnmark town was decimated at the end of WWII by retreating Nazi
troops,whosescorched-earthpolicyaimedtodelaytheadvancingSoviets.Townsweresoon
reconstructedinthemostefficient,yetboxy,buildingstyle.So,incontrasttothespectacular
natural surroundings, present-day Finnmark towns are architecturally uninspiring.
Alta
POP 18,700
Although the fishing and slate-quarrying town of Alta lies at latitude 70°N, it enjoys a rel-
atively mild climate. The Alta Museum, with its ancient petroglyphs, is a must-see and the
lush green Sautso-Alta canyon, a quick hop away, is simply breathtaking.
The river Altaelva, which runs east of town, was once a Sami fishery and a popular haunt
of sporting 19th-century English aristocrats. In the late 1970s, it became an environment-
al cause célèbre when, despite fierce local and national opposition, a 100m-high dam, the
Altadammen,wasbuilttoexploitthisrichsalmon-spawningstreamforhydroelectricpower.
Alta, stretching along some 15km of coastline, has a large footprint. Its two main centres
are about 2km apart: hilly Bossekop to the west, and Sentrum in - well, just that, with its
uninspiring blocks and parking lots and a pleasant enough traffic-free central square.
Sights
Alta Museum
PETROGLYPHS, MUSEUM
(
www.alta.museum.no
;
Altaveien 19; adult/child Nkr85/20; 8am-5pm or 8pm)
This
superb award-winning museum is in Hjemmeluft, at the western end of town. It features ex-
hibits and displays on Sami culture, Finnmark military history, the Alta hydro-electric pro-
ject and the aurora borealis (northern lights). The cliffs around it, a Unesco World Heritage
