Six thousand years ago, someone stood on a polished rock slab beside the head of the Alta fjord and began to peck a reindeer into the stone. Then they did it again, and so did their descendants for the next four thousand years. The result, at Hjemmeluft and the other carving fields around Alta, is the biggest collection of prehistoric rock art in northern Europe, thousands of figures of elk, reindeer, bears, fish, boats and people, and some in curious shamanic poses, drumming or dancing. It was listed by UNESCO in 1985. The carvings were made by hunter-gatherers whose world was the shore, the ice and the seasonal movement of animals, and many show hunting scenes, with the line of a reindeer fence or a figure drawing a bow.
A boardwalk loops over the rock slabs near the Alta Museum, which stands right at the site, so you can walk among the carvings in the open, with the fjord glittering on one side. Some of the figures have been painted red so they can be seen in the flat light, a modern aid, and the museum explains how the old carvers worked. The best time to look is at low sun, when the shadows pick out every groove; in summer the midnight sun makes that the quiet hours, and in spring and autumn it comes early and long.
Alta itself, with about twelve thousand people, is the biggest town in Finnmark, a spread-out place known for the northern lights and for the river that bears its name, a famous salmon water that runs through Europe's biggest canyon, Sautso. It also has a recent place in Sami history, because the fight against the Alta dam in the early 1980s was a turning point for Sami rights in Norway. Fuel, food and repairs are all easy here, and it makes a natural base for the northern leg of a long journey.
The riding is classic Arctic. The E6 runs north along the shore of the fjord and across the Finnmark plateau, with bare mountains, lakes and vast skies, and reindeer wandering onto the road in summer, which makes careful riding essential. The North Cape is around two hundred kilometres further on. Summer brings the midnight sun, but also wind and cold rain, so layers are essential. Winter riding is for specialists only.
Try the local salmon or reindeer stew, and a cup of strong coffee.