Lofoten
Lofoten is made up of small local communities and is home to many people.
At the same time, Lofoten welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists every year because of its beautiful nature.
Lofoten is an archipelago located in Nordland, west in the sea north of the Arctic Circle. The islands consist of Austvågøya, Gimsøy, Vestvågøya, Flakstadøya, Moskenesøya, Værøy and Røst.
Lofoten consists of the six municipalities of Vågan, Vestvågøy, Flakstad, Moskenes, Værøy and Røst, as well as the parts of Hadsel located on Austvågøy. Vestfjorden lies between the mainland and Lofoten.
Facts about Lofoten
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Inhabitants: approx. 24 000
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Highest mountain: Higravtinden (1146 m).
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The archipelago extends 200 km out into the Norwegian Sea)
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Lofoten's total area: 1,227 km2
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68°20′N - 14°40′E
An avalanche of purple peaks with grassy flanks. A chain of mountains with locks – Raftsundet, Gimsøystraumen, Nappstraumen, Sundstraumen and Moskenesstraumen.
Five ocean traumas that, together with the open sea, form the basis for one of nature’s great wonders, the cod that migrate from the Barents Sea to Lofoten every winter to spawn. The Lofoten fishery has meant everything to Lofoten and a great deal to Norway. It has brought fabulous wealth, but also ruin and defeat.
Lofoten fishing has also given rise to superstition and storytelling. Nowhere else in Norway is nature so deeply woven into legends and fairy tales; from Risen in Raftsundet, via the legend of Vågakallen and Lekamøya to Skarvene on Utrøst. Lofoten is the land of fairy tales.
It bears repeating. Lofoten is a wonderland with a natural environment that is unparalleled anywhere in the world.
Author Frank A. Jenssen
"You haven't seen real nature until you've been to Northern Norway, and Lofoten is the most beautiful of all."
