Kåfjord is a side arm of the Altafjord in Finnmark, and the little settlement on it lies just a few kilometres from Alta. It is a quiet place of birch, low farms and water, with the big mountains of the plateau standing behind. In the middle of the nineteenth century a copper mine operated here, financed by British investors, and the English managers brought a style of living that left a few odd traces in this far northern corner. The mine's story is a reminder that the Arctic coast was never as empty as the map suggests.
The fjord has a darker chapter too. In the Second World War the German battleship Tirpitz was based in these waters, hidden in the fjord arms to threaten Allied convoys to the Soviet Union, and the area was heavily fortified. Above the fjord on the mountain of Haldde stands an observatory built in the late nineteenth century, where the physicist Kristian Birkeland studied the northern lights. The aurora is still the reason many people come, and on a clear night between autumn and early spring the sky over Alta can flare green and violet.
The riding is easy and wide. The E6 leads in from the south and east, a fast, well-surfaced road that crosses the high plateau and drops toward the fjord, with long open views, little traffic and the constant chance of reindeer. In summer the sun does not set at all for weeks around midsummer, and you can ride through the small hours in warm, low light that makes the hillsides glow. Winter is another matter: the road is snow-packed, dark and often closed by storms, so this is a summer route unless you are well equipped.
Alta, about six kilometres away, is the place for fuel, food and supplies, and it has a big range of shops and cafes for the region. Nearby the Alta river is a famous salmon water, and the canyon upstream is one of the largest in northern Europe. If you have time, stand at the shore and watch the tide pull across the fjord, with the smell of seaweed and cold stone around you.