Rugged, wild and stunningly beautiful, the Lofoten Islands in Norway are often referred to as one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. The beauty of these islands is simply staggering. There are picturesque fishing villages nestled in fjords, dotting a very rugged coast with abrupt peaks rising directly from the ocean. There’s beauty at every turn. 

They are located across the turbulent waters of the Norwegian Sea, far above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway. However, it enjoys a relatively milder climate due to the circulation of the Gulf Stream, and temperatures up to 23C in the summer are not uncommon.

We arrived in the first week of September - in early Spring and we were lucky to experience our first day there in beautiful sunshine and warmth.

We arrived late and stayed the night at Svolvær, the main town in the Lofotens. It’s located on the southern coast of the island of Austvågøya, overlooking the Vestfjord. It’s essentially still a fishing town  and the gateway to the stunningly beautiful archipelago. 

We awoke the next morning in our hotel room at the Scandic Svolvær, which we discovered jutted over the water, with bright sunshine streaming into our room. As we peered through the window, we found ourselves staring at the most  stunning and  idyllic mountain and seascape.

After a delicious breakfast of typically Scandinavian fare, we walked to HERTZ to pick up our rental car for the next four days.

Our view from Scandic Svolvær ⇡

We were excited to drive south on Highway E10 which runs from mainland Norway, through the Lofoten archipelago, and ending at its southernmost village of Å (pronounced oh! - like you're surprised). Over four days, we covered the five main islands of Lofoten: Austvågøy, Gimsøy, Vestvågøy, Flakstadøy and Moskenesøya. 

Moskenesøya is the last of the four main islands and has the most dramatic scenery of them all.  Notable towns on this island are Hamnøy, Reine and Å. 

We stayed in the tiny hamlet of Hamnøy at Eliassen Rorburen for the next three nights. It's a quaint tourist resort with 35 fishermen’s cabins. It’s situated on a tiny island by the spectacular Reinefjord, in the wild and beautiful western part of Lofoten, near Reine. Most of the cabins have been fully renovated and adjusted to the needs of tourists. The character and décor of the cabins reminded us of their original use. Our cabin had breathtaking views of the spectacular Reinefjord, steep mountains and the picturesque harbour of Hamnøy. It was a perfect place to stay. 

We decided to begin our adventure in the Lofotens with a hike up Reinebringen. It is considered a hard, steep and slippery hike, yet this is more than made up for by the iconic view from the summit. At a modest 448m high, Reinebringen is far from one of the highest peaks on the Lofoten islands. The view, combined with the easy access from Reine and a constant flow of images on social media means that Reinebringen is one of the most popular hikes on Lofoten. That said, the trail to the summit of Reinebringen is not really a hike, but rather a steep climb to a viewpoint along the ridge.

It would take about two hours to hike to the top, so Gary in his Blundstones and me in my Cons, set off! Our ascent began along a fairly muddy and shrubby path, winding its way upwards through the low birch forest. Very quickly, it turned into a whole lot of mud and a whole lot of steepness. Climbing higher up the mountain, the trees begin to thin and we came across several short but wet rock steps to negotiate.

Once clear of the forest, the trail gradually steepens and alternates between turf (which was wet and slippery) and rocky sections. If others are above you, there is risk of rockfall as the trail becomes more eroded from use. We tried to stick to the main trail as much as possible but it wasn’t always easy to see. Throughout our ascent, we came across bunches of people descending and we asked each group if we were anywhere near the halfway point. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE said, “No, not halfway yet, but when you do get to the top, it is so worth it!” So we continued to climb and climb and climb. The trail steepened dramatically over muddy, slippery trails and it got a bit scary in parts. It seemed like we were never going to reach the summit. Gary was a bit concerned about his knee, about me and my climbing technique (that is, clinging onto grassy outcrops rather than something a bit more sturdy and secure) and about our descent. We were a long way up!

​We decided to rest on a couple of small jutting rocks and were in awe of the beautiful view below. It was just spectacular!

After a lot of deliberation, and some heartbreak, we decided to turn back. Gary painted the scenario that if I happened to slip and fall, it would probably be to my death (dramatic, I know!) and who would be the number one suspect? Well, we all know how that one would probably end. So, reluctantly, we began our descent. I found it much easier going down even with the sliding of feet and bottom. We got muddy and dirty with some scrapes and scratches.

When we reached the whatever the opposite of ascent is, we washed our hands and arms and shoes at the little spring at the bottom and vowed to come back some day with proper hiking boots to make the ascent to the very top. One day!

Our Reinebringen experience left us ravenous, so we decided to go to Anita's at Sakrisøy, which is the village right next to Hamnøy. I had to have Anita's famous fishburger. It was tasty but I don't know if I'd give it a 'famous' ranking. Gary was keen to have something a bit more substantial so we drove around Sakrisøy and Reine, only to find that there was nothing open. NOTHING at all. We decided to head back to Anita's for another fishburger or two. You guessed it, by the time we got there, it had closed as well. He had to make do with a bunch of nuts that we still had from Bergen before we'd boarded the ship, and a banana or two.

Our first night was fairly cool but as we had had a clear and relatively cloudless day, we ventured out at 11:00pm hoping to witness the Northern lights. The conditions were perfect and while it was relatively early in the season, there was a good chance that they would show themselves in their dazzling way. No luck!