Lofoten Islands & Arctic Highway Drive Pack | The Stable

The Lofoten Islands are Norway at its most extreme — a chain of jagged granite peaks rising vertically from the Norwegian Sea, connected by bridges and tunnels that thread between fishing villages unchanged since the Viking age. The E10 highway runs the length of the archipelago, and it is one of the most visually stunning drives on Earth.

The route begins in Narvik, a fjord town above the Arctic Circle, and follows the E10 west through increasingly dramatic landscapes. The first Lofoten island — Austvågøy — announces itself with the Raftsundet strait and the towering Trollfjord, accessible only by boat. From here, the road hops between islands via bridges and undersea tunnels, each crossing revealing a new composition of mountain, sea, and sky.

The fishing villages of Henningsvær, Nusfjord, and Reine are the highlights. Henningsvær — the "Venice of Lofoten" — is built on two islands connected by bridges, with a football pitch perched improbably on a rocky outcrop. Nusfjord is a UNESCO-protected fishing village of red-painted rorbuer (fishermen's cabins). Reine, at the foot of a granite amphitheatre, is regularly voted Norway's most beautiful village.

The road ends at Å — literally the last letter of the Norwegian alphabet and the last village on the archipelago. Beyond here, there is only the Moskstraumen maelstrom and the open Arctic Ocean. In summer, the midnight sun bathes the mountains in golden light around the clock. In winter, the Northern Lights dance above snow-covered peaks. Either season is extraordinary.