The next part of our Finnmark experience will take us to Berlevåg, once one of the largest fisheries in Finnmark. We’ll stay the night in one of few remaining pre WWII buildings in Finnmark and hike to the horn of Tana.
Coastal scenery on the way to Berlevåg
Kongsfjord
Kongsfjord and Veines is an idyllic village on your way to Berlevåg. Instead of finding accommodation in Berlevåg we had already booked room at Kongsfjord Gjestehus. They have an excellent rating on TripAdvisor. During WWII all of Berlevåg was destroyed, but Kongsfjord was spared. A group of houses on Veines in Kongsfjord has been converted to guest houses offering accommodation and we were set on staying in these historical buildings.
Kongsfjord 2016
Kongsfjord 1942 (Photo from Digital Museum)
Kongsfjord has built a good reputation as a bird watchers paradise. Many come to get a glimpse of the Gyrafalcon building their nests for breeding in the steep cliffs on Veines. A bird hide has spectacularly been build on the edge of the cliff.
Blog from Biotope – Bird watching at Kongsfjord
Berlevåg
Most Norwegians will think of the popular Berlevåg Male Choir when you mention Berlevåg. There was even a documentary called ‘Cool and Crazy’ (Heftig og Begeistret) made about the choir.
Old harbour in Berlevåg
Berlevåg used to be one of Finnmark’s largest fisheries. The history as a fishery can be found at Berlevåg Harbour Museum, one of six museums participating in the collaboration of Museums for Costal, Heritage and Reconstruction of Finnmark.
Another place worth a visit is Arctic Glasstudio. I seldom buy souvenirs on our travels, I’m there for the experience. But visiting the studio of Daniela I could not help myself. She creates beautiful glass art work, all made locally – and I left with two beautiful glass angels..
Stranded fishing boat in Berlevåg
Our next stop was Kjølnes Lighthouse located beautifully on the approach to Berlevåg. What a picturesque location! The lighthouse was originally constructed in 1916, but the one watching over the coast today is from 1947.
Kjølnes Lighthouse
We stopped for coffee, cake and a chat with the friendly host. We learned that you can stay overnight at the lighthouse that has a guesthouse with 11 rooms available for visitors. An idea for our next visit maybe? The wooden hot tub looked very tempting.
Wooden hot tub at Kjølnes Lighthouse
Hiking to Tanahorn
After spending hours in a car it feels great to get out and explore parts of the country you cannot reach by car. The coastal landscape west of Berlevåg is one of those places worth exploring. One of the hikes we had read about was the moderate hike to Tanahorn, or Hoartnavarri in samì.
Starting point for the hike is 8km west of Berlevåg. Marked parking lot on the right hand side of the road. The hike is 3.5 km in easy terrain. If you visit in early fall (September) you will find lots of wild blueberries along the start of the trail.
Happy hiker on Tanahorn
The hike is a moderate one, but it is a continuous climb so you will not see the sea before you reach the top. But once you reach ‘the horn’ you are surprised by a dramatic view and cliffs dropping to sea. The perfect way to end our visit to Berlevåg before heading east to Vardø.
View from Tanahorn
This post is from our road trip exploring Finnmark – the northernmost county in Norway. If you want to read more about Finnmark check out these posts:
Ingøya – a summer island paradise
What you need to see when you visit the North Cape
Smashing set of images from the North! <3
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! ❤
Ahhhh I’ve always wanted to visit Scandinavia – but your piece has piqued my wanderlust for sure!!
That’s awesome Ryan! I hope you will visit us – you will not be disappointed for sure:)
This is a truly magical place for a hike! I would love to go there hiking and enjoy the scenery!
Thank you so much Agness! Happy you enjoyed the scenery as much as we did. Thanks for visiting!
Wonderful account and I love the restrained colours in all the photographs – and that lighthouse is beautiful!
Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! I guess it is the harsh weather that takes its toll on the colours – wearing and tearing on the houses:)
What can I say…? Super-stunning!
Thanks so much for sharing
Thank you so much for the sweet feedback, makes me happy:)
Beautiful pictures of a beautiful region! In March, it was a bit more snowy :p
I’m looking forward to the next article 🙂
Thank you so much Samuel! We actually visited Finnmark in March as well – went to watch the dog race Finnmarksløpet. Definitely much more snow, but also a great time of year to visit to experience winter in the north. Where did you go?
WOW, SO BEAUTIFUL!
Thank you so much Diana! 🙂
Great set, Inger.
Thank you so much Dan! 🙂
I just love the vistas here as well as the buildings and other simple fixtures. The stranded fishing boat and the tub are great examples of a weathered, faded look that I always appreciate. Your hike sounds perfect, a moderate climb with a great reward at the end – you both look quite content out there in that rugged nature!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! I do love the weathered look as well, and with the harsh weather up north there is a lot of fun objects to discover and photograph. The hike was a really good one, not to hard on the legs and such a bug surprise at the top. Doesn’t get any better. Thanks for visiting!
Lovely place with breathtaking scenery!
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! 🙂
Beautiful pictures! The view of the sea from the cliff is breathtaking and like you said ‘dramatic’. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much! I really enjoyed the view from Tanahorn, felt very airy… Such a great hike:) Thanks for visiting!
I love your Kongsfjord photo from 2016. Beautiful.
Much appreciated Khürt! An interesting place and the host was so welcoming:) Worth a visit!
Beautiful 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for sharing a most magical place. I hope to see it one day.
Thank you so much Ron! I am happy to hear your enjoyed the ‘virtual tour’ 🙂
What a beautiful view! Well worth the effort and in a way it’s quite good that the majestic landscape is only revealed once you reach the tip!
Happy to share the view with you! 🙂 I think I kinda agree with you, quite a reward seeing the view when you get to the top. Wouldn’t get the same wow factor without that.
So many places, so little time. Thanks for letting me tag along to this beautiful spot. I would not, however, be sitting on the edge the way your husband is!
janet
Thank you so much for joining us on this virtual hike Janet! I didn’t try out the edge either, got butterflies just watching… 🙂
Love the northern lights. A lot of your photos would look great in black/white. What a trip.
Thank you so much Jim! I never get tired of the northern light, its even better than sunsets! 🙂 I haven’t thought of trying to convert to B&W, but maybe I should. Any good ideas/techniques I should take into consideration before I try? 🙂
If you have Adobe Lightroom, then you can convert your photo into black/white with a duplicate image and see what it might look like. I use Silver Effects from NIK and google to convert the images to black and white after going through Lightroom. The NIK collection is free from google.
B/W is all about the light and the differences between the darks and lights. Some photos have more impact in color and some have more expression in b/w. Try it and have fun. Jim
A fabulous journey you have taken us on, Inger! Wonderful photos! 🙂
Thank you so much for coming along Pete – much appreciated! 🙂
Looks like a great hike with amazing views. Gorgeous photos!
Thank you so much Ingrid! Always love a hike that ends with a view like that:)
Those views are gorgeous! I particularly loved the picture with the coloured rooftops that looked like toy houses. 🙂
So beautiful. My goodness what a gorgeous place to explore.
Great photos and thanks for including the “vintage” one to give an idea of the history of the place.
Absolutely gorgeous! What an incredible place to explore!
What a wonderful trip
Amazing post with the colored houses, the northern light,old harbour and boots and the magnificent viws
So beautiful. I love the 2016 and 1942 comparison.
This is a very pretty place and looks like a nice hike. I really like your photography.
Amazing photos and experiences! So well-captured, even I have a smile on my face and am a virtual happy hiker… 🙂
It’s great to read your travel experiences and I enjoyed your travel report and the stunning and colorful pictures …! The picture of the ‘stranded fishing boat’ is like a painting, so beautiful! I also love the Nordic light and scenery. Well done!
Best regards, Heidi
This is a great post and lovely photos!. Would also appreciate it if you take a look ay my hike that I’ve recently updated on hiking in Hong Kong! http://www.hjkhiking.wordpress.com Thanks 🙂
this is good
Oh, such a great article and fabulous pics! Love it!
Absolutely breathtaking! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Very nice post, beautiful photos and what a great place.
Thanks for sharing with us
I’ve never been to Norway but this looks incredible!
I miss you and your beautiful posts! I hope everything is going well? Warm wishes from Germany Simone
Looking fantastic!