Season: whole year
A great way to get to know a country is to travel by car. However, if you are the driver it will be difficult to be able to appreciate and capture the beautiful landscapes, because you will need to concentrate on the road, the signs, and the direction of the vehicle itself.
If you are a passenger on a guided tour, for example, the trip can be quite different: you will have no worries about getting lost or having difficulties with the local language, and you will also know a little about the history of the place.
In addition, you will be able to stop at exactly the places of interest to enjoy them, experience them, breathe them. It was with this in mind that Senja Experience did all the detailed research and organized fantastic itineraries so that your itinerary is full of authentic, unusual and surprising experiences. With 5 hours of duration, these routes are a must for anyone who wants to make their journey on the island of Senja unforgettable! Below you will know a little more in detail about four exciting routes:
1 – National Tourist Route – In all of Norway there are 18 National Scenic Routes and one of them crosses exactly the island of Senja. Discover with us the route that has attracted the most renowned photographers in the world for its spectacular mountains, fjords, and beaches. Along this route, we are come face to face with steep mountains that plunge deep into the ocean, with spectacular views of the fjords.
One of the highlights of this route is the peculiar mountain “Oksehornan Senja,” known as “Devil’s Teeth.” The region’s narrow roads surround frozen lakes in winter, the beautiful fjords surrounded by icy crystalline waters and beaches of white sand and turquoise waters full of coral. In addition to stops at viewpoints with breathtaking views, we visit authentic fishing villages that even today tell stories of the time when they had to survive exclusively on fishing and agriculture.
2 – Torsken and Gryllefjord Route – Get in our car and get inspired by our tour of incredible places and fantastic landscapes! This tour is considered one of the most beautiful routes in Senja and region. The roads are flanked by rivers, spectacular bridges, tunnels between fjords, lakes and mountains (including a christening of Pão de Açúcar) until we reach the spectacular fjords in the region. On the Pão de Açúcar mountain we create a small trail (depending on weather conditions) to a lookout with spectacular views of the fjords.
This exciting route also passes through an old nickel mine, one of the oldest churches in the region and continues until the visit to the two largest fishing villages in that region, where we have the opportunity to meet local residents and hear their stories. During the snowless months we take a short walk to a plateau where it is possible to see the open sea between the mountains perfectly.
3 – Mountain route to Giska – These are the most fantastic mountains on the island of Senja! On this route we cross a beautiful mountain range until we reach a beautiful lake. On the way, we stopped to visit an authentic Sami house (typical house made by the Lapps, nomadic people from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia), built of rustic wood embedded, bark of trees and grass roof.
We will also go through a tunnel that has a fantastic descent until we reach the fjord at the bottom, passing through mountains, rivers, lakes and waterfalls. We will travel along the coast of the fjord at the foot of the mountains and cross to another fjord, seeing spectacular waterfalls on the way. We will also take a short walk through a birch forest, whose autumn landscape reminds us of Monet’s paintings. And finally, we will visit another authentic local fishing village, where we will learn how to prepare dried fish, a delicacy from Norway.
4 – Southern Route of Senja – Get ready to know the mysteries and history of southern Senja! On this route, we have the chance to see lakes and rivers (which are frozen during the winter months) close by. We also pass through a culture and nature center called Sážža (which means Senja in the Sami language). The coastal route has the sea on one side and spectacular birch and/or pine forests on the other, forming a coastal landscape as beautiful as it is diverse, marked by large mountains and beaches of turquoise water.
We also pass by the Ånderdalen National Park, considered an important place for the preservation of biodiversity, in addition to the historical and cultural features that are reflected in the use of the area. We will also visit the ruins of Viking houses (which are buried under snow in the winter), fishing villages built in the midst of incredible mountains, and a fort built by the Germans used during both World War II and the Cold War with bunkers and cannons. (And which was later used as a training ground by the Norwegian army).
