Lofoten

Europe · Norway

Lofoten, Norway

Peaks, beaches and red fishermen's cabins

Plan this trip

Getting there

By air

Leknes (LKN) or Svolvær (SVJ), short flights from Bodø

Best time to visit

June to August for the midnight sun; February to March for the aurora

Don't miss

Reine

Hamnøy

Henningsvær

Haukland beach

Things to do

Hiking Reinebringen

Midnight-sun beaches

The northern lights

Where to eat

Stockfish (tørrfisk)

Sources: Photo: Lukas Beck · CC BY 4.0

What to pack

Layers, waterproofs

A quieter corner

Kvalvika beach, reached on foot

Questions travellers ask

Should I visit Lofoten in summer or winter?

June to August for the midnight sun, or February to March for the aurora.

Can I fly to Lofoten?

Yes — short flights from Bodø go to Leknes (LKN) or Svolvær (SVJ).

Where should I go in Lofoten?

Reine, Hamnøy, Henningsvær and Haukland beach. Hike Reinebringen, chase the northern lights, and try the stockfish (tørrfisk).

Is there a quieter beach in Lofoten?

Kvalvika beach, which is reached on foot. Pack layers and waterproofs.

About Lofoten

Island
Mountains

Where it is

Lofoten is an archipelago in Nordland county in northern Norway, lying above the Arctic Circle between the Norwegian Sea and the Vestfjorden, its sharp peaks rising straight out of the sea.

History

People have lived in Lofoten for at least 11,000 years, and at Borg archaeologists uncovered the remains of an 83 m chieftain's longhouse, one of the largest Viking-age buildings known. For more than 1,000 years the islands have been the centre of great cod fisheries, and their dried cod was shipped south for centuries through the port of Bergen.

People

Lofoten's people speak Norwegian and have lived from fishing for generations; each winter the great fishery for spawning Arctic cod still draws boats from along the coast. Stockfish dried outdoors on wooden racks and rorbuer, old fishermen's cabins now often rented to visitors, are part of island life.

Known for

Red fishermen's cabins (rorbuer)
Cod drying on wooden racks
The villages of Reine, Hamnøy and Henningsvær
Mountain hikes such as Reinebringen
The midnight sun and the northern lights

Did you know?

The Moskstraumen, a system of powerful tidal eddies off western Lofoten, is the original maelstrom, and it inspired stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne.