The Saltfjell National Park (area 2,250sq.km/870sq.mi), established in 1989, is the largest and most varied National Park in northern Norway. Bounded on the west by the North Sea and the Svartisen glacier and in the east by the Swedish frontier, it is bisected by the Arctic Circle. The E 6 and the railroad running parallel to it between Moi Rana in the south and Bodø in the north are the only inroads by man and the only means of communication on a plateau which becomes impassable in winter under great masses of snow. The Saltfjell is still used by the Sami for grazing their herds of reindeer.
E 6 crosses the Arctic Circle at an altitude of 650m/2,130ft. 100m/110yd south is a stone commemorating the Yugoslav prisoners of war who died during the construction of the railroad to the north in 1942-45, during the German occupation of Norway.
Road 17, running south from Bodø to Glomfjord, offers the possibility of a visit to a glacier as well as perhaps the most beautiful stretch of road in northern Norway. The narrow Nordfjord to the west, with its precipitous sides and innumerable waterfalls, is Norway's most dramatic fjord.
Like other National Parks, the Saltfjell has a network of paths and "self-service" huts at a day's march from one another; information about them can be obtained from local tourist offices. Old sacrificial sites, pits for trapping game and stone boundary lines show that many centuries ago the Sami used the Saltfjell as hunting and grazing grounds. There were a number of trade routes between Rana in the south and Saltdal in the north, and the Arctic climate with its heavy falls of snow made it necessary to have shelter for the night available all over the area. The last farms in the Saltfjell were abandoned in the mid 20th century, and after the establishment of the National Park no further hydroelectric stations were built in the Saltfjell.
From Storfjord, on E 6, Road 77 runs through the dramatic and fertile Junkerdal to the Swedish frontier. The vegetation in this densely wooded country includes both Arctic species of orchids and plants normally found only much farther south.
From Fauske (pop. 5,400), on E 6, Road 830 runs east to Sulitjelma. Deposits of iron ore were discovered here by chance in the 1880s, and mining continued until 1990. The Mining Museum in the town tells the story of the mine. From Sulitjelma there are organized climbing parties to the Blåmannisen glacier (1,571m/5,154ft) and Suliskongen (1,913m/6,277ft).
The surrounding scenery and close proximity to the Sulitjelma mountains attract tourists year-round.
Read More
Saltfjell
Read More
Read Less
