Polar Zoo

See wolves, brown bears, lynx, wolverines, arctic foxes, elks and other animals from the polar fauna. Polar Zoo, which is one the world's northernmost zoos, lies in the Salangsdalen Valley in Bardu.

The Senja Troll

The Senja Troll, based on an old Senja legend of a troll seen both on land and at sea, is the world's largest troll. It is registered in the 1997 Guinness Book of Records. It is almost 18 metres high and weighs 125,000 kilos. 

The village of Havnnes

Havnnes is an old trading village where fishermen have been delivering fish for centuries. Archeological findings prove this to be a dwelling place as old as 6,000 years. Havnnes has an idyllic location on the southern tip of the island of Uløy (Nordreisa municipality) with the Lyngen Alps as a majestic backdrop. You need to take a short ferry ride to get there.

Målselvfossen Waterfall

Considered by many to be Norway’s national waterfall. Her you will find one of Europe’s longest salmon ladders, dating from around 1900. The glass viewing area, which opens in mid-June, enables visitors to study wild salmon at close range.

Museums

The North Norwegian Ship Preservation Centre focuses on boats and coastal heritage.

The museums in Northern Troms depict Kven and Sami culture, historic trading posts and the rebuilding after the Germans burnt down much of Finnmark and North Troms during World War II. 

The various sites of the Central Troms Museum provide an insight into how for example fishermen and farmers lived.

There is also a Defence Museum in Setermoen. Norwegians stopped the German occupying forces at Gratangen during the start of World War II.

The Lyngen Peninsula

The Lyngen Peninsula features the majestic Lyngen Alps in a wide belt along the peninsula with lower mountains along the fjords on both sides of the peninsula. The Lyngen Landscape Protected Area covers an area of more than 960 square kilometres. 

Deep mountain passes cut through the Lyngen Alps in several places, the most prominent of which goes along the Kjosen arm of the fjord from Svensby to Lyngseidet.

The Lyngen Peninsula includes around 140 glaciers covering a total area of around 100 square kilometres. The major reason for the large number of glaciers is the high mountains, which capture humidity from the clouds.

Reisa National Park

Over a period of thousands of years, the Reisa River has created the long, narrow Reisadalen Valley, which is the core area of the Reisa National Park.

Narrow valleys and crevices, mighty waterfalls and ravines characterise parts of the national park. The Mollisfossen Waterfall with a fall of 269 metres is particularly impressive. The powerful Imofossen Waterfall tumbles down two rivers over vertical granite walls, which meet in a narrow ravine with innumerable potholes.

The flora and fauna found here is among the richest in Northern Norway with contributions from eastern and northern species. Steep rock walls and virtually inaccessible forests and mountain plateaus provide good living conditions for birds of prey. While the rough-legged buzzard is the most numerous, alert mountain hikers can also spot the golden eagle, kestrel and gyrfalcon. The national park and surrounding mountains have stocks of wolverine, lynx and mountain foxes.

Øvre Dividal National Park

Øvre Dividal National Park in Inner Troms, near the border with Sweden, is home to a rich variety of flora and fauna in one of Northern Norway’s most varied wilderness areas. There are varied landscapes with pine and beech forests, high mountains, lakes and marshlands. The area features rich mountain vegetation with large quantities of Arctic mountain heather and an Arctic rhododendron species.

Øvre Dividal is known as the realm of the wolverine. Øvre Dividal has a shared bear population with areas on the Swedish side, and bears with cubs are observed virtually every year. The area also has a permanent arctic fox and lynx population, wolves also inhabit the area.

The beautiful Northern Cap Path through Norway, Sweden and Finland goes through the national park, as well as a network of trails between the Troms Hiking Association’s unmanned cabins.

Ånderdalen National Park

Ånderdalen National Park is characteristic of the varied northern coastal nature. Untouched mountain beech forests and marshland dominate the national park. In between the mountains, you will discover several lakes and rivers with rapids and waterfalls. The coastal pine forest contains trees up to 500 years old.

Elks thrive in Ånderdalen, and some of the waterways contain salmon, trout and arctic char.

The plant life is richer along the edges of the marshland and along the banks of the streams, with species including bartsia alpine, dwarf marsh violet, grass of Parnassus, and the heath spotted orchid. Rare orchids, the ghost orchid and early or yellow coralroot, can also be found here.

Above the tree line, 300 metres above sea level, the dominating species are heather, crowberry and blueberry. Fertile willow scrub grows along the mountain riverbanks, while in rocky areas nearer the peaks, the typical coastal plants diapensiaceae are a characteristic species.