Experience the Sami culture in Varanger Arctic Norway

Norway is home to most Sami (The indigenous people of Norway )in the world. The total population of Sami in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia is estimated to approximately 80,000, and about half of them live in Norway. The vast majority of settlements are located in Northern Norway, primarily the county of Finnmark. If you visit Northern Norway, you can also experience the Sami way of life. Camp in a traditional lavvo (Sami tent) under the northern lights, get a close encounter with reindeer – or go see a Sami art exhibition.

Many think that Sami traditions only consists of colourful costumes, traditional handicraft products, and catching reindeer with lassos. But the Sami heritage is also visible and alive in everything from rap music and modern architecture to contemporary art and cutting edge design. The modern Sami can be both an award-winning filmmaker and a reindeer herder on a snowmobile. But they might both feel the same deep relationship with nature.

> Mortensnes
Ceavccageađge/Mortensnes The cultural heritage Ceavccageađge/Mortensnes is unique in Europe and contains traces of human activity from the last 10 000 years.
The culture trail takes the visitors to ruins, religious Sami offering sites, graves, offering stones, etc. The exhibiton «Luondu – sacred landscape” tells of Sami mythology and beliefs. Guided tours and information is available at the Varanger Sami Museum.

> Sami museum
Learn about the history of the coastal Sami in the museum in Varangerbotn. The museum has a shelter with a map and information about the national park. The bird hide below the museum is a must if you want to find out more about the bird life in the area.

> Duodji
The Sami handicraft tradition of duodji still lives on in Varangerhalvøya. The people who practise duodji produce objects made from reindeer skin or raw materials such as birch bark and antlers from uncultivated land areas.

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Welcome to Varanger Arctic Norway

In the far north and as far east as you can go in Norway, where the sky meets the sea, lies Varanger, bathed in the midnight sun and the northern lights of winter. Here the wild landscape meanders through bird-nesting cliffs, fishing villages, and rugged headlands – out to the end of the world.
Nature offers rivers teeming with fish, snow-clad plains, exotic king crabs, birds breeding in spring, leaping salmon, the shining sea, and dancing northern lights. People and traditions make Varanger an Arctic melting pot of communities and cultures. Varanger is a different experience. Scenery and settlements, the light, the colours, the lofty sky and wide horizon, exciting activities and the open people.

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Explore Varanger Arctic Norway
Activities and experiences in Varanger

> Arctic lights - Arctic Nights
> Aurora Borealis - The Northern Lights
> Endless horizon
> Silence, polar weather and wind
> Bird watching - Birding Varanger
> Hornøya bird cliff
> King crab fishing
> Whale watching safari
> End of Europe Hamningberg
> Diving
> The Varangerfjord
> The Barents Sea
> Museum boats
> Local fishing fleet
> Deep Sea Fishing
> Salmon Rivers
> Sami experiences
> Varjjat Sami Museum
> Mortensnes cultural heritage area
> Vardøhus Fortress
> Nordpol Kro
> Polar history
> Eastern Cape - Kibergnesset
> II War history
> The Partisan Museum
> The Pomor Museum
> Finnish sauna / sauna culture
> Vardø restored
> Varanger Houses
> Old fishing Villages
> Street art
> Art Galleries
> Extreme Botany
> Geology in Arctic landscape
> World-class architecture
> Witch trial memorial - Steilneset
> Varangerhalvøya National Park
> Music festivals
> Culture festivals
> Ski Varanger
> Kiting and windsurfing
> Dog sledding
> National Scenic Route Varanger
> Storm cabins, weather and wind shelters
> Hiking in Varanger
> Biking in Varanger
> Varanger Golfpark
> Minicruise with Havila / Hurtigruten

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