Lofoten is an archipelago within the Arctic Circle in northern Norway. This remote area’s population is around 25,000, covers over 1200 square kilometers, and has been on my bucket list for many years. Finally, I had a chance to explore this magical land in late May and June. I’m a professional landscape photographer, and photographing these islands under the midnight sun has been a dream.
Getting to Lofoten
After a month of travel from Belgium to Norway, I caught a flight from Oslo on Scandinavian Airlines to the Harstad-Narvik Airport (EVE) (about a 1.5 hour flight) and a few hours drive northeast of the main Lofoten islands. I chose this airport because airfare was about half the price, as were car rentals. Plus, I don't mind seeing more of northern Norway. From here, I picked up my rental and meandered along the E10 southwest towards Reine, one of the most frequented villages on the Lofoten island of Moskenesøya about 100km above the Arctic Circle. From here, my adventure really began. Below are my favorite places for hiking and photography, as well as a few I missed because of the weather. And I feel I just scratched the surface of this beautiful land.
Hamnoy
I spent my first few nights on the small island of Hamnoy about 1.5km east of Reine Village. From an iconic red fishing cabin at Eliassen Rorbuer, I could make the easy one-minute walk to the bridge connecting Hamnoy to Sakrisøy. Here is a view from the bridge looking back at the fishing huts.
Hamnoy, or Hamnøya in Norwegian, is one of the most beautiful places I've ever stayed. This small fishing village in Nordland County, Norway, sits along the Vestifjorden and is part of the Lofoten archipelago.
The red houses were once fishermen's cabins. Today they make up the Eliassen Rorbuer, a collection of cabins for guests to stay and enjoy the area.
The skies on my days here in the arctic circle of Norway were amazing - both during the day and during the midnight sun.
The photo above looks to the Hamnoy Bridge - taken on my cell phone from the deck of my rorbu.
From the eastern end of the bridge along the E10 looking back at the red fishing huts, the views are postcard material. Hamnoy bridge has a nice walking area on the north side of the bridge to set up a tripod for great views.
From the E 10 Bridge connecting Hamnoy to Sakrisøy in Lofoten, this view looks back on the Eliassen Rorbuer's red-roofed fishermen's cottages on a summer morning. This archipelago in Norway, high up in the Arctic Cirlce, takes a little work to reach, but the unending views and beautiful islands are worth the effort.
When considering when to shoot this scene, most times are good depending on what you like. But be aware of a few things:
1 – shadows – early in the morning, the shadows can creep out from the bridge, sometimes interfering with the light on the rocky shores beneath the huts.
2 – the metal fencing along the side of Hamnoy Bridge is pretty tall and can cause some issues if your tripod is shorter like mine. I’d read about this ahead of time so I brought an extended for my tripod in order to raise my camera above the metal bars. While this helped, I actually was able to set up and poke my lenses between the vertical railing to get both horizontal and vertical orientations. The extender helped, but amplified vibrations when a car or pedestrian would pass by. I found I was better off without it.
In the evening the midnight sun falls lower on the horizon behind the mountains, but never actually sets. This image was taken, if I recall correctly, between 9pm-10pm. The light rays extending out really made the scene.
In this sweeping panorama taken from the bridge connecting Sarkisoy and Hamnoy, the summer sun is peeking from behind the rugged mountains that rise from the Norwegian Sea high in the Arctic Circle. This is Lofoten, an archipelago in western Norway, and one of the most beautiful places in the world. The red houses are part of Eliassen Rorbuer, fishing huts that have been converted to cabins for adventurous travelers that provide amazing views of the landscape.
Later in the evening, the low sunlight was blocked by the large mountain to the east, but the clouds had a nice pink hue. I was fortunate for this night to have a low tide, as well, and was able to scramble across the rocks for some angles I had not seen much in my research.
Well after midnight, the skies above the hamlet of Hamnoy in the Lofoten archipelago in northern Norway resonated in pastel shades of pink and blue. While others slept, I found myself unable to close my eyes and rest when there were so many amazing places to explore, so many sights to see - even in the middle of the night.
From sea level, the fishing cabins of the Eliassen Rorbuer sit in the shadow of both mountains rising from the Vestifjord and the light of the midnight sun.
This photograph from the Lofoten archipelago was taken after midnight, and though the sun never fell below the horizon, it did disappear behind the mountains for a few hours.
Reinebringen
The stunning village of Reine is only a five-minute drive from the red fishing huts of Hamnoy, and just a bit further is the trailhead for Reinebringen, one of the most hiked trails in Lofoten. Parking can be challenging, but the crowds die down in the evening. However, I wanted to take in the views from the top of this short but popular hike when the sun was overhead and the light made water a wonderful shade of blue. The parking area I had planned on was full, so I ended up driving another mile or so west, then made the walk back to the trailhead. From this perspective, I could see the steep, switch-backing trail. Oh my! This is from my cell phone.
I’ve climbed 30+ 14,000’ peaks in Colorado, so I wasn’t too concerned, but still, it was steep. However, in the early 2020s, the local officials commissioned a group of Sherpa to put in a rock staircase to (very nearly) the summit (1978 steps). So while the trail was uphill, climbing 1470’ (448m) in less than a mile, the steps were somewhat easy to navigate.
On my trek up, everyone was friendly. I walked most of the way with two Finnish women who had made the 19+ hour drive just to hike a few trails in Lofoten, then return to Finland a couple of days later. Props to them! At the top, I met a newlywed couple from Australia and another person from New Zealand. Great fun – and I love hearing other travelers’ stories!
Then I took out my tripod and camera and enjoyed the stunning views east over Hamnoy and the E10, a view that was only enhanced with the wispy clouds overhead.
High up on Reinebringen, an inconic peak in the Lofoten archipelago that overlooks the villages of Reine, Sakrisøy, and Hamnoy, the views are incredible. The hike up to the peak consists of 1,700 stone steps fashioned by Sherpa builders, then a dirt path to the summit.
This panorama shows the expansive views from this remote location high up in the Arctic Circle looking out over the Norwegian Sea on a perfect summer afternoon.
After some time just lingering in the moment, I started down, and this is when you need to be focused. No handrails exist, and one misstep could be catastrophic to your trip and your health.
After methodically working my way down, I relaxed to a great “fish of the day” at Tapperiet Bistro
in Reine (and no, I don’t get paid for this)! The waitress was very kind and helpful. Oddly enough, she disappeared after we the meal was mostly finished. So another worker took care of the payment.
That night, I was out and about some more, exploring after 11pm the empty streets and unfamiliar midnight sunlight. The lookout along the road after the turnoff into Reine from the E10 provides a nice view of the village, and the quiet makes it even more enjoyable.
After midnight, the sky was still aglow with the light the Arctic Circle's midnight sun. At the far west end of Lofoten, a stunning archipelago in western Norway, this view shows the village of Reine with the soft colors of the not-so-dark night.
After my time in this southwest part of Lofoten, I began working my way back east, stopping at several beaches, including these two:
Rambergstranda – Nestled in Jusnesvika Bay, this long stretch of white sand is just north of the small village of Ramberg. The water is aqua-blue and the beach is perfect for strolling.
Just off the E 10 near Ramberg in Lofoten, the beautiful white sands beach of Rambergstranda calls the passersby. This trail lined with a smattering of wildflowers led down to the beach on the cool summer day high up in the arctic circle as low clouds drifted by. Moments like this, to me, are timeless.
Rorvika (Rørvik) Beach
– About an hour and twenty minutes of driving from Ramberg, I found more of the same! Perfect turquoise water and fine white sand make the smallish Rorvika a beach worth stopping for on the way to Henningsvaer. I liked this beach earlier in the morning with the sun at my back. The color of the water alone made the stop worth it!
Rorvika Beach in the archipelage of Lofoten, Norway, is a small gem just north of Henningsvaer. With a white sands beach and a small stream that flows down into the cold water, it is a good place to take a stop and stoll along the shore.
Henningsvaer
About 8km south from Rorvika, the lovely port town of Henningsvaer was small but interesting, both for its more intimate photo opportunities and for its grand scale perspectives.
On a calm evening in the Henningsvaer port, a small boat's reflection shimmers in the glass-like water.
And if you have a drone and are licensed in Norway, you can take away some great aerials of one of the world’s most beautiful soccer/futbol fields. I didn’t want to go through the hassle and paperwork of obtaining my license in Norway despite holding my Part 107 license in the states, and this was my one disappointment of the trip.
The small harbor in Henningsvaer is set in a beautiful area of the Lofoten archipelago. This photograph was taken on a from Dreyers Gate on a summer evening as storm clouds rolled through.
I spent nearly all my time shooting along the walkway that looks northeast over the port to the distant mountains.
Svolvær from Mount Fløya
After researching this area, I knew I wanted to hike up Mount Fløya at least partway for the view overlooking the harbor town of Svolvær. This village serves as the capitol of Lofoten and is known as the gateway to the archipelago. Snug between the mountains and the sea, more than 4800 inhabitants call this home, and there is even a shopping mall in town!
In a small harbor in the town of Svolvær, Norway (in the archipelago of Lofoten), the winds were calm and the reflections of the boats and their masts were as clear as glass.
Svolvær is located on the island of Austvågøya, and evidence of a settlement named Vågar in the area dates back to 800 AD.
A short distance out of town – no more than a five minute drive – the Mt. Floya trailhead beckons adventurers. I made it up more than halfway before the clouds started rolling in. Still, the views were amazing, and I can still see the greens of the fauna and azure blue of the sea when I close my eyes. The view faces southwest and I ended up shooting this scene in the morning with the sun mostly behind me. I’m not sure how it would look in the evening hours with the sun in the west, but after the midnight sun has run its course at the end of summer, the skies would probably be quite memorable.
A short distance up Mt Fløya in Svolvaer (in the Lofoten archipelago in Norway), I stopped to photograph this view of the stairs leading back down into town. The morning was beautiful as this arctic town spread out into the blue Norwegian Sea in the distance.
About halfway up Mount Fløya, this view of Svolvær awaits. Located in the Arctic Circle in the Lofoten archipelago, western Norway, the landscape is beautiful, lush and green in the summer mornths.
Along with hiking Mount Fløya, another primary reason I wanted to visit Svolvær was to catch the ferry to the island of Skrova for the opportunity to kayak in the North Sea. I booked ahead with https://www.skrova-kayak.com and caught the free ferry to the island – just a short 30 minute ride – where I was greeted by two guides. After brief introductions, we were off to the dock where we headed out in our kayaks across the emerald-green water. If not for the temperature, I would have guessed we were in Hawai’i. The views felt tropical as we skimmed across the water before landing on yet another white sands beach.
The water was clear and turquiose in the afternoon sun. You wouldn't know it, but this was taken high up in the Arctic Circle on the island of Skrova in the Lofoten Archapelago (Norway). And while it looks just about perfect, the water was a bit chilly!
This particular portion of my trip had been planned for a long time, and it was enhanced by the patience and kindness of my two guides.
The water was beautiful high up in the Arctic Circle in the Lofoten archipelago. This panorama was taken on a kayaking trip on the island of Skrova.
I will note here the only downside to this excursion is that I was supposed to travel to Skrova the day before. The guy who was emailing me the info gave me an incorrect departure time for the ferry (8:30 instead of 8:00am). I had the email to back it up, as well. It was a bummer as I wheeled into the lot to catch the ferry only to see it slowing pulling away from the dock. At first I thought it was just another large boat leaving port, but later I learned that was my boat! Still, Skrova-Kayak did the best they could and had me out the next day. Whew!
After my kayaking trip, I took some time to hike around the small island, climbing about halfway up the short mountain. (I would have gone to the top, but didn’t want to miss the ferry back to Svolvær.
From a hill above Skrova Harbor, this view shows the beauty of the Lofoten archipelago in Norway. This small island is slighty off the beaten path, but is a great place to explore for a day and an exciting location for kayaking to white sand beaches.
For photography, I carried my camera and only one lens in a waterproof bag. I don’t often use filters, but this time the one I brought helped with the sun’s glare.
Hikes I missed
Thanks to the weather, there were two hikes I wanted to enjoy, but the rains served as a deterrent. The first, Ryten, climbs up to 1782’ and offers a great view over Kvalvika Beach. The other, Mannen, is suppose to be an easy hike but can be muddy in spots. It overlooks Haukland Beach. Both of these beaches would be nice destinations in their own right, so if you are not a peak-bagger, the beach might be a good alternative!
Last, for weather, I found the app - Yr.no – to be helpful.
If you have any questions about these photos or places, I'll help as best I can.
Safe Travels, fellow adventurers!
On a calm evening in the Henningsvaer port, a small boat's reflection shimmers in the glass-like water.
The water was clear and turquiose in the afternoon sun. You wouldn't know it, but this was taken high up in the Arctic Circle on the island of Skrova in the Lofoten Archapelago (Norway). And while it looks just about perfect, the water was a bit chillly!
