The road Alta-Kirkenes, the E-6, goes through
different kinds of nature
The E-6 goes through all of Finnmark
The road Alta-Kirkenes, the E-6, starts at Trelleborg in Sweden and goes through Norway up to Kirkenes. We start
our E-6 story at the Troms county border
in Alta municipality. See
map.
Side trip from E-6 to Loppa and Sørøya
When you come from Troms county into Finnmark, after a few kilometres you may deviate from the E-6 to road 882 and take the a
trip to
Loppa municipality
and Øksfjord.
Just at the
Langfjordbotn crossroads is a cafe where they can tell
you
about Loppa
and the
Øksfjord glacier.
(Only in Norwegian, but you'll find the contact info).
Read also a litte more about
the glacier.
See
map.
At Elvedal a few kilometres from the Langfjordbotn crossroads you can see some of the anchorages of the German World War II battleship
Scharnhorst.
From here you can also go to
Sørøya where the famous
Deep Sea Angling Festival is
held every summer. See
map.
Alta is the starting point of the famous dog sledge race
"Finnmarkslopet".
The Northern Light Observatory at Haldde Mountain
(Photo: Janos Kolostyak/World Heritage Center for Rock Art - Alta Museum).
The picture shows the main building and some of the excellent view of the Alta fiord area. The Haldde Mountain (904 m o.h.)
is higher than all the mountains in the Alta fiord. From the start in 1899 to 1926 there was northern light research and weather
observations on the top of Haldde.
In additon to the observatory building there was a main building with four flats and offices. Up to three families with children
once lived on top of Haldde. After World War II only the stone walls were left. But today much is restored.
There is a marked, 9 km cart road up to the top. The road starts by the E-6 in near Kåfjord Church (35 km southwest of Alta).
Accessible all year round. You can hire keys at Alta Museum.
See
Haldde map.
At Kåfjord there are remains from the
old copper mine,
the
Kåfjord church
and the
Tirpitz museum.
(Site only in Norwegian.)
Alta museum
These rock carvings (or petroglyphs) in the Alta Fjord in Norwegian Lapland are the traces of a
settlement dating from ca. 4200 to 500 B.C.
There are thousands of paintings and engravings. They all give us a better
understanding of the environment and human activities on Arctic Coast in prehistoric times.
The
Rock Art of Alta was taken
into UNESCO's
World Heritage List in 1985. This is one of the largest known
collection of rock carvings in Northern Europe made
by hunter-gatherers. The first carvings were discovered in 1973.
Rock Carvings - Alta Museum.
(Photo: Olav E. Johansen)
Read more about
Alta museum.
Alternative route Alta - Karasjok
You can go Alta-Kirkenes by an alternative route.
From Alta you may go to Karasjok on the inland road 93/92. At Gievdneguoika crossroads you may want to go to the Sami
municipality
Kautokeino
and the
Juhls silver gallery.
Alta Canyon and Alta Power Plant
The Alta canyon is the largest canyon in Northern Europe. The visitor's room at the power plant was built
inside the mountain itself, above the 110-metre high dam. You can see the reservoir and concrete dam through a panorama window.
The dam and the power plant are only open to visitors taking part in guided tours.
The Alta canyon is 7,5 km long. The width is between 400 metres and 1,7 km. The canyon is around 420 metres deep.
Read more
about Alta itself.
As you go eastward from Alta you have to pass the
Sennalandet high plateau where many
Sami have their summer dwellings. There is also a
Sami
church at Aissaroaive.
From the church you proceed down the
Repparfjord river which a good salmon river and come
to another crossroads at
Skaidi.
Side trip to Kvalsund and Hammerfest
And from Skaidi you may deviate on the road 94 through
Kvalsund and
further on to the world's northernmost
city,
Hammerfest.
Side trip to North Cape
From Skaidi you pass another high plateau,
Hatter, and come to the Olderfjord crossraods. From here you can deviate to the famous
cliff,
North Cape.
Porsanger
In the Porsanger municipality you can see the
Stone Trolls at Trollholmsund.
See
map.
Read more
about Porsanger here.
Alternative route Lakselv - Tana bru
From Lakselv you may also take an
alternative road to Tana bru, the road 98. Then you go along the Porsanger fjord and pass
Børselv
with its
Kven center which is worth a visit.
(Site only in Norwegian, but there is a picture of the modern building and maps + contact info).
Also the
Silfar Canyon, with the Silfar Rapids, is worth a visit.
See
map.
After the Silfar canyon you pass the mountain Børselvfjellet and get to the crossroads at
Ifjord.
From Ifjord you can even deviate from the rd 98 and
go to the Arctic coast on the Nordkyn peninsula.
There you can visit
Gamvik with its Slettnes lighthouse
and Kjøllefjord
with the famous church-like rock
Finnkirka.
Karasjok
Still on the E-6, travelling Alta-Kirkenes, from Lakselv you pass yet another mountain and reach the capital and cultural center of the Norwegian Sami,
Karasjok.
You are now at the Heart of Lapland. See
map
From Karasjok the E-6 goes downstream on the shores of the Tana river which runs through three municipalities
in the
Tana valley.
Tana
As you go downstream you pass the
Levajok Fjellstue.
Side trip to Utsjoki on Finnish side
And further down the river you may cross the Tana
river on the Lapland bridge and visit
Utsjoki on the Finnish side of the border.
At the Lapland bridge the E-6 meets the
E-75.
Then you get to
Tana bru which is the center of Tana municipality.
Side trip to Arctic coast
From Tana bru you may take day trips to the Arctic cost on the Varanger peninsula. As you go that way,
you pass the
Tanamunningen nature reserve. And on the coast there are the fishing
villages
Berlevag and
Batsfjord.
Nesseby
We know proceed on the last stretch of the E-6 route Alta-Kirkenes. At Varangerbotn itself there is
a modern
Sami museum.
Side trip on Varanger national tourist road
At Varangerbotn crossroads you can deviate from the E-6 and take the E-75 which goes through Vadsø and Vardø. It ends at Hamningberg.
This is the
Varanger national tourist road.
Sør-Varanger
Midway between Varangerbotn and Kirkenes you may again deviate from the E-6 and go Bugøynes, which is the Finnmark village where old Finnish
traditions still are kept alive after their forefathers immigrated from Finland 100-200 years ago.
The place is also called Pikku Suomi, Little Finland. Read more
about Bugoynes here.
At Neiden we find the smallest and oldest church building in Finnmark,
the
Russian orthodox chapel.
At last we are at the end of the Alta-Kirkenes road. The E-6 ends at
Kirkenes at the quay of
the Hurigruten -
The Norwegian coastal express.
In winter there is an
ice hotel at Kirkenes.
Side trip Russian border and Grense-Jakobselv
From the Kirkenes area you can visit the 180 km
Russian border
or even go for shorter or longer trips into Russia, for instance to Murmansk.
Another border river is the
Grense Jakobselv (Jacob's border river).
When you are at Grense Jakobselv, you are at one of the easternmost points of Norway. Only Vardø is a little further east.
Both are further east than Istanbul.
Side trip to the Pasvik valley
And you can go to the Pasvik valley. Part of the Norwegian-Russian border
follows the
Pasvik River.
And finally, here is a video showing
the road Alta-Kirkenes in 3 minutes.
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