Varanger offers you good opportunities to move outdoors. We encourage you to take a trip outdoors, no matter what the weather is like. Rough weather may often make your hike the most memorable one.The terrain is generally easy to hike in and quite a lot of it is untouched and beautiful wilderness for miles and miles. As a hiker, the flat and open landscape gives you a wonderful view of the wide horizon, including the large Varanger Fjord. Here you will find everything from flat plains to deep gorges – wet fenland to rivers abundant with fish. A hike in the Varanger peninsula is a great experience where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery while actively enjoying outdoor activities.During the summer you can fish and swim in rivers and lakes in the light of the midnight sun. During the autumn you can pick berries or mushrooms, or go hunting in the vividly autumn-colored landscape

Lake Gressvann trail

Lake Gressvann is located on the south side of the VarangerFjord in Nesseby municipality. The lake is one of many good fishing grounds in this area. Lake Gressvann is at a distance of three kilometers above a place called Nyelv. Nyelv translates as“new river”, and the river is named after the fact that it often changes its bed.Lake Gressvann’s hiking trail is 3 km long (one way) and takes you along an old cart road up to the lake. The terrain is flat and dry and easily walked, surrounded by small, bare mountains.The hiking trail is popular among locals of all ages. A box with a book for writing your name and the date of your visit has been put up at lake Gressvann, in order to see how many people hike the trail during the season.At Lake Gressvann there is a space for making an open fire where you can rest, make coffee, and enjoy a picnic. You can fish in the crystal clear water or cool down in the lake on hot summer days

The Enare trail

The Enare trail is a historical arterial road from Karlebotn in NessebyMunicipality in Norway to Sevettijärvi in Finland. According to writtensources, tax collectors and tradesmen walked this trail already in the 1500s.The trail continued all the way to Karlebotn where a market is held. InariSámi used the trail to get to Varanger to fish and many also gradually settled down along the fjord. The trail was used for extended family reunions and by hunters until well into the 1950s.The trail is 110 km long (60 km on the Norwegian side of the border) and goes from Karlebotn in Norway to Sevettijärvi in Finland. It normally takes 5-6 days to walk the entire trail. There are cultural heritage relics along the trail. The trail takes you along easily walked terrain over mountains and fenlands.There is a signpost on the main road, indicating the starting point in Karlebotn.You start the hike in Karlebotn and hike past Lake Vestreelv, with a view of the Varanger Fjord. Higher up, at Lávkavárri, there is the timberline and the Finnmark plains start. The trail goes eastwards through the Ásllatnjuoski valley and to the border of Finland. On the Norwegian side, there is traditional mar-king with stone piles and yellow squares. The trail is well-marked on the Finnish side as well.For people who enjoy a challenge, we recommend participation in the Inaritrail hike event Enarestivandringen. This annual event is held in early August.

Varangerbotn trail

Varanger is famous among birdwatchers and ornithologists as one of the most well-known birding areas in northern Europe. The Varangerbotn hiking trail takes you across the bog area that is favored by waders, Arctic Skuas and ducks. Further up the hill, you can find forest birds like Siberian Tit and Great Grey Shrike.The first part of the trail crosses a bog area where the Nesseby sports association has adapted the trail to hiking so that you can follow the ski track from Varangerbotn to Nyborgmoen. After about 1 km you come to the brook Rovvejohkka where there is a small bridge. In the Rovvejohkka there is brook trout and many a local child has fished her first fish right here. The size of the fish is “teeny-weeny”, but it is a lot of fun for children to fish here as there is a good chance of an actual catch. From here you hike along the cross-country ski track through the birch forest until you get to Nyborgmoen, a former drill ground. From Nyborgmoen there is a gravel road that takes you to Nieidavarri, about a 3–4 km walk. The sports association has set up a hiking box for the smallest children at about 300 metres from the starting point and a registration box at the highest point of the cross-country ski track. Both children and adults are encouraged to register for their hikes and skiing trips.Reindeer husbandry professionals have a migration route to the west of the start of the trail. The reindeer migrate in the spring and the autumn, usually from the end of October and until the year-end. During this period you should take care when hiking in this are

Aldon hiking trail

Álda is a Sàmi word meaning sacrificial site. The belief in Mount Aldona’s a holy mountain is still very much alive and visitors do not light fires on the mountain as that would violate the rules of conduct at holy places. It has also been said that women should not climb up the mountain.Mount Aldon is a popular recreational area locally. The 2 km long (one way)and the well-signposted trail takes you to the top of Mount Aldon, which is only171 metres or 561 feet above sea level, but with an amazing view of the Varanger Fjord. In collaboration with the Nesseby sports association, the Sámi Parliament of Norway marked the trail up to the top in 2011. The trail is marked with sticks with dark red marking and the inscription “Alda”. A guest book has been setup in a box at the summit in order to see how many people visit the place during the season.The starting point for the hike is at the bridge over the river Meskelv. You first walk along a gravel road that goes up to an old football field at Meskelv. The trail then takes you from the football field through a birch forest behind themountain and all the way up to the top. The trail becomes a little steeper right before you reach the top, but the view from the summit rewards the effort.

The Ilar trail

The Bergebydalen valley has always been an important area for the local population of Nesseby. Here, people have been harvesting natural resources like cloudberries, grouse, fish, timber, firewood, winter feed for the farm animals, and blister sedge. The valley is rich in Sámi place names that describe the terrain, types of usage,who has been using the area, and things that have happened here.The trail starts at the parking lot above the racecourse at Nesseby and takes you to the Ilar turf hut in the Bergebydalen valley, approximately one hour’s walk from the parking lot.The Sámi-style turf hut is open and is nice as a hiking destination or just as a place to take a rest for skiers or hikers – all year round.The Ilar turf hut is a traditional Sámi bealljegoahtior arch-rafted turf hut.The substructure is made by arched birch trunks and the building materials are birch (wood and bark), peat, and stone. The turf hut is furnished with a wood-burning stove and there are reindeer skins for extra warmth. There is also an outdoor privy there. You can stay the night if you bring a sleeping bag.

Mortensnes

Mortensnes is one of the most special cultural heritage sites in northern Europe. The area has a unique collection of relics, from remnants of homesteads and graves to sacrificial stones, like the iconic Transtein or “fish oil stone”.A walk down the trail at Mortensnes is also a walk through time. We here find traces of 10000 years of continuous settlements, from the first tent rings to today’s buildings. Mortensnes is also home to the largest pre-Christian gravesite in North Norway.The Mortensnes cultural heritage area is a well-marked trail, where you can walkalong signposted culture paths and study interesting relics of cultural heritage. The longest trail is about 1.5 km or 1640 yards long. The terrain is open and the trails are not demanding. There’s also a reconstructed Sámi-style turf hut in the area, where you can take a break, make coffee and have a bite to eat while you enjoy the view.We ask visitors to take care by sticking to the marked trail and by being aware that the area is protected and that it is therefore not allowed to move anything or to pickup stone slabs or anything else.

Klubben trail

The distinctive mountain formation at the rest stop is called Murggiidgahparas / ”the Club Nose” or “the Hat” and it is aholy mountain. Several written sources from the 1700’s and the1800’s describe findings of reindeer antlers, reindeer bones andbones of halibut on the mountain. These were traces of sacrifices. As there are several ancient Sámi graves in this area, you are kindlyrequested to be careful when moving about here.The 1.8 km long trail up to the lake takes you along an old cart roadthrough a birch forest and with a very moderate gradient, it is accessible to all. The path to the summit (400 metres or 1312 feet above sealevel) deviates from this trail a little before you get to the lake andcontinues across slate stones in an open landscape. The slates may bea little loose below your feet, but apart from that the path is easilywalked. The summit gives you a lovely view of the Varanger Fjord. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the other side of the fjord and the Vestre Jakobselv community.

Hiking Varanger