Most people visiting Norway go to the country’s south or quickly dash to the North Cape and back. Most of the North of Norway remains largely undiscovered by tourists. This is sad because we loved our two months in the north and feel it deserves to get more well-known. And in this blog post, we’ll explore why you should visit the north of Norway on your next motorhome trip.
Different Nature
Nature in the north is very, very different from the south. The rolling hills, flowing rivers and forests of the south get replaced with rugged, mountainous terrain that can withstand long, cold winters. You see loads of amazing waterfalls in the north that drop from steep cliffs into the dark ground. The vegetation is less green and dense than in the south as it is used to harsher climates.
But even between the different areas in the north, there are stark differences in the nature that you see. For example, we felt like we were driving on the moon when we were going to Hamningberg from Vardo, and the drive up the North Cape was an experience on its own.
>> See all of our adventures in Norway here <<
Special wildlife
With different nature comes different animals, in the north, you can see many arctic and subarctic species, like reindeer, whales and special birds like puffins.
We didn’t realise how many reindeer we would see in our time in the north. They are everywhere and love to walk across the asphalt or just stand in the middle of the road. You have to be careful not to hit them, you don’t need to be on the lookout for them, as we thought we would need to.
During our stay there, we saw beluga whales at the border with Russia and went to a special island full of birds, including puffins. People travel from all over the world to go to this uninhabited island and be able to see the diversity of birds that live here. There are a lot of birds in the Arctic Circle that you will hardly find anywhere else.
And more animals are native to this area that you might want to see, like whales, orcas, king crabs, white-tailed sea eagles, and arctic foxes, and there are special tours that are designed to help you see these animals. We did not take a safari like that, but if you want to see more animals, you definitely could.
Midnight Sun or Northern Lights
Depending on when you visit, you might experience one of two very impressive phenomenons: the Northern Lights or the Midnight Sun.
During the midnight sun, the sun doesn’t drop below the horizon, giving you light 24 hours a day. This experience is very weird, messing with your sense of time and Arcadian rhythm. But it also offers special opportunities. All over the north, they organise midnight sun activities like watching wildlife, kayaking, fishing or hiking. We hiked during the midnight sun while at the Russian border, and I got a sunburn at midnight. Very surreal. Don’t forget your sunscreen at any time of the day!
The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, are a phenomenon that can be seen in the north, though mostly in the Arctic Circle. The lights are caused by sun particles colliding with the atmosphere, creating colourful light strings across the sky. We didn’t expect to see them on our trip, but we got lucky and did see them a few times. It’s hard to explain it. The photos look very different from the real experience, but we wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for anything!
Few but friendly people
Northern Norway has a low population. This meant we sometimes went days without seeing or speaking to anyone until we went to a village for a supermarket or a café. Coming from one of the most densely populated countries in the world, this feels surreal but really nice.
Norwegian people like to stay on their own and won’t talk to you unless necessary because they don’t want to bother you. However, we did notice that in the North, people were more chatty with us because they liked having tourists visit the area and wanted to know what we were doing there.
Areas to visit in the North of Norway
If you are planning a trip to Norway soon, skip the Lofoten and the North Cape and visit other, less-known areas of the north, like Vardo, Slettnes fyr or the Lyngen Alps. And if you want to know more about these areas, check out our other blog posts, or send us a message. We would love to give you tips!
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