Why this ride
From Tromsø it runs 779 km to Tromsø; allow about 13 h 15 of riding. The stops in between: KÃ¥fjord, Rock Art of Alta, Hjemmeluft and Storsteinen. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tromsø long day · Storsteinen
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 779 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 13 h 15
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
KÃ¥fjord → Rock Art of Alta
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 4 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 13 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tromsø
Tromsø is unexpectedly lively for a town so far north. It stands on an island, linked to the mainland by a bridge and a tunnel, at nearly seventy degrees north, with snow-covered peaks all around and about fifty thousand people who have built a university, a brewery and a fine collection of bars into the Arctic. It has been called the Paris of the North, partly in jest and partly because it has long had a worldly side, thanks to the polar expeditions that set out from its harbour.
Read the complete Tromso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tromsø is where the day begins. Next is KÃ¥fjord.
2. KÃ¥fjord
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.
Read the complete KÃ¥fjord write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
KÃ¥fjord comes up about 373 km into the recorded legs. Next is Rock Art of Alta.
3. Rock Art of Alta
On the shore of the Altafjord, a few kilometres from the town, a long hill of smooth grey rock slopes down to the water, and its surface is covered with pictures. There are thousands of them, carved by hunters between roughly seven thousand and two thousand years ago: reindeer, elk, bears, boats, fish, and human figures that seem to dance or drum. The carvings sit at Hjemmeluft, beside the Alta Museum, and the whole group is a World Heritage site. The oldest are life-size reindeer, and some of the later scenes show hunting and ritual in strikingly lively detail.
Read the complete Rock Art of Alta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 386 km into the recorded legs you reach Rock Art of Alta. Next is Hjemmeluft.
4. Hjemmeluft
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.
Read the complete Hjemmeluft write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hjemmeluft, about halfway. Next is Storsteinen.
5. Storsteinen
Planning note
Storsteinen sits at 229 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hjemmeluft.
6. back through Hjemmeluft
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hjemmeluft write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hjemmeluft comes up about 393 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Rock Art of Alta.
7. back through Rock Art of Alta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rock Art of Alta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 394 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Rock Art of Alta. Next is back through KÃ¥fjord.
8. back through KÃ¥fjord
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete KÃ¥fjord write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through KÃ¥fjord, late in the day. Next is Tromso.
9. Tromsø
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tromso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 779 km.
Leg by leg
Tromsø to KÃ¥fjord
Tromsø → KÃ¥fjord is 373 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
KÃ¥fjord to Rock Art of Alta
KÃ¥fjord → Rock Art of Alta is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hjemmeluft to Storsteinen
Hjemmeluft → Storsteinen is 3 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Storsteinen to back through Hjemmeluft
Storsteinen → back through Hjemmeluft is 3 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Rock Art of Alta to back through KÃ¥fjord
back through Rock Art of Alta → back through KÃ¥fjord is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through KÃ¥fjord to Tromso
back through KÃ¥fjord → Tromso is 373 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.