Knivskjelodden: Europe’s real northernmost point

Want create site? Find Free WordPress Themes and plugins.

There are three places that claim to be Europe’s northernmost point: Kinnarodden, Knivskjelodden, and the North Cape, all three in Norway. So, I took a map and Knivskjelodden seemed to be the real northernmost point (71° 11′ 08″ NB).

Knivskjelodden can, unlike the North Cape, not be reached by car (nor by bike). It takes a 19 kilometers walk to get there and to get back to your car again. Not as easy to drive straight to the North Cape 😉 We parked our car along the E69 and started our journey to Europe’s northernmost point well-prepared. Enough food, enough water and enough clothing. We also installed a GPS tracker to track our route in case we would get lost on the way back.

On our way to Knivskjelodden

The road to Knivskjelodden is very well marked by red T’s along the track. A red T cannot always be seen from a distance but many people placed stones around it and all those stones together made the next point of the track easily visible from a distance. We made a contribution to the pile of stones as well.

Follow the red T’s. © My Little Travel Stories

Making a contribution to the pile of stones as well. © My Little Travel Stories

The surface is very rough and very rocky. The rocky roads alternated here and there with swamps and mud. It’s no easy road to walk. The average speed of our walk was 2,66 km/hour. You can do the math about how long it took us to complete this 19 kilometers walk. But we were determined to reach Europe’s northernmost point so we went on. We did not encounter many people on our way to Knivskjelodden. Three people walked ahead of us at the beginning of our walk, but they disappeared after a while and it was just us and all the rocky stones around us. The view over the landscape is amazing. We stopped for a little while, but when we realized how many kilometers there were still ahead of us, we decided to carry on.

The rocky road to Knivskjelodden. © My Little Travel Stories

It’s a beautiful walk with a varied landscape. We even faced some wild animals along the track and there are a lot of marble stones.

Marble stones along the road. © My Little Travel Stories

After we walked for several hours the North Cape catched our eyes. We started to see the sea as well and that’s the moment you realize you’re almost there. We continue our walk now parallel to the North Cape. The path goes steeply downhill. Not disturbing, but you know you have to walk all the way back again after reaching Knivskjelodden.

Sea view © My Little Travel Stories

I thought we were almost there when the sea got closer but nothing could be further from the truth. The hardest part of the journey had yet to come. The landscape became wilder. Lots of swamps, lot of mud, slippery stones and high cliffs. We had to be very careful. The slippery stones in combination with mud made it easy to slip away. The northernmost point is not that far away anymore, but it takes us a lot of time to complete this last few meters. The view on the North Cape and the Barents Sea is breathtaking though.

This path might not seem that hard to pass but I swear it is! © My Little Travel Stories

We know we’re almost there. We walked more than 9 kilometers and the North Cape is behind us. And then we see Europe’s northernmost point right in front of us! Fantastic! I was so enthusiastic that I didn’t watch my steps. I slipped down right into a big mud pool. So stupid.. But it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re there! Right there, on Europe’s northernmost point! We wrote our names in the logbook that can be found there and we enjoyed our well-earned lunch with an amazing view.

Planning on visiting Europe’s northernmost point as well?

I would definitely recommend to walk to Knivskjelodden. It is a beautiful walk, with nice views and it is a real victory when you finally reach Europe’s real northernmost point. The whole walk (from the car and back) took us 7 hours, so know what you’re up to. Make sure you prepare yourself well and be aware that there can be a dense fog any minute. I would not recommend people with a walking disability to make this walk since the surface is very rough and very rocky.

What to take with you on your trip to Knivskjelodden?