Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting Around
The airport, 13km southwest of town, is served by the Flybuss (Nkr85, 20 minutes), which
connects the bus terminal and Rica Arctic Hotel with all arriving and departing flights.
Kirkenes Taxi (
78 99 13 97)
charges Nkr270/310 for a day/evening run between town
and airport.
Hourly buses (less frequent at weekends) run between the centre and Hesseng (Nkr25, 15
minutes).
Car-rentalagenciesinKirkenesitselfinclude
Rent a Wreck (
78 99 32 80)
and
Europ-
car (
78 97 01 00)
, which also has a kiosk at the airport.
Grense Jakobselv
The first settlement at Grense Jakobselv, 60km northeast of Kirkenes, probably appeared
around 8000 years ago, when the sea level was 60m lower than it is today. Only a small
stream separates Norway and Russia here, and along the road you can see the border ob-
elisksonbothsides.Theonlyrealattraction-apartfromthechancetogazeoverthemagic
line - is the isolated 1869 stone church. It was constructed within sight of the sea to ce-
ment Norway's territorial claims after local people complained to the authorities that Rus-
sian fishing boats were illegally trespassing into Norwegian waters; it was thought that the
intruders would respect a church and change their ways. During school holidays, you can
make a day trip between Kirkenes and Grense Jakobselv (1½ hours) on Monday, Wednes-
dayandFriday.Thebusleavesat9amandreturnsat11.30am,allowinganhourtoexplore.
Pasvik River Valley
Even when diabolical mosquito swarms make life hell for warm-blooded creatures, the re-
motelakes,wettundrabogsand,totheirsouth,Norway'slargeststandofvirgin
taiga
forest
lend appeal to little Øvre Pasvik National Park, in the far reaches of the Pasvik River val-
ley.
Some 100km south of Kirkenes and 200 sq km in area, this last corner of Norway seems
more like Finland, Siberia or even Alaska. Here, wolves, wolverines and brown bears still
roam freely. The park is also home to elk and a host of relatively rare birds such as the
Siberian jay, pine grosbeak, redpoll and smew.
The Stone Age Komsa hunting culture left its mark here in the form of hunters' pitfall
traps around lake Ødevann and elsewhere in the region; some date from as early as 4000
