Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LONGYEARBREEN
The prominent glacier tongues licking at the upper, southwestern outskirts of Longyearby-
en have scoured and gouged through many layers of sedimentary material, including fossil
layers, created when Svalbard enjoyed a more tropical climate. The terminal moraine
churns up plant fossils - leaves and twigs that left their marks 40 to 60 million years ago.
Several guided walks build in time for a little foraging.
The trail leads up past the Huset and up the river's true left bank, past the abandoned
mine buildings, and onto a rough track. After the remains of a bridge (on your left), you'll
approachtheterminalmoraineandcrossastreamthatflowsdownfromyourleft.Thetrack
then traverses some steep slopes, crosses the river and continues upstream to its end at the
fossil fields. The 5km return hike from Huset takes about 1½ hours, not counting fossick-
ing time.
ADVENTDALEN
Stark, wide-open Adventdalen beckons visitors with wild Arctic landscapes. After leaving
town, you'll pass the pungent husky kennels; Isdammen, a freshwater lake that provides
drinking water for Longyearbyen and an important habitat for the barnacle goose; then a
northern lights station. With a car or bike, you can also cruise out to the defunct
coal mine
Nos 5 and 6
and pass
No 7
(the only one that still functions). Above Mine No 7 is a satel-
lite station.
Barentsburg
POP 400
Visiting the Russian mining settlement of Barentsburg is like stumbling upon a forgotten
outpost of the Soviet Union somewhere close to the end of the earth. The first thing you
seeisitspower-stationchimney,belchingdarkblacksmokeintothebluesky.Thisisolated
village continues to mine coal against all odds and still produces up to 350,000 tonnes per
year, though selling it on the open market is a constant problem and stockpiles are huge.
With its signing in Cyrillic script, a still-standing bust of Lenin, murals of muscly workers
in heroic pose and a run-down and dishevelled air, the overwhelming feeling is of a settle-
ment whose time has past.
