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Nordkapp Travel Guide


Nordkapp Attractions & Activities - The Best Holiday Destinations for 2020

Nordkapp is a 307 m (1007 ft) high cliff rising above the Arctic Ocean. Nordkapp is promoted as the northenmost point of Europe, this is however not true. The neighbouring point Knivskjellodden is actually 1,457 m (4780 ft) further north. Some 200,000 tourists visit annually, during the two to three months of summer. The town Honningsvåg is 34 km south of Nordkapp. An half hour drive by car. The midnight sun may be enjoyed 14 May-29 July, unless it is a cloudy night.

Understand

Nordkapp in midnight sun.
Nordkapp in midnight sun.

Nordkapp - The North Cape, the North Cape Horn has always been a well-known an important point of orientation for all boats and ships. The rock has had a great variety of names and it was only in the mid 16th century that it was given the present name.

In 1553 a English commander, Richard Chancellor passed Nordkapp and named the cliff as Nordkapp, the North Cape. From that time, it has been called Nordkapp. At that time it wasn't exactly the center of interest. But only 100 years later, the first "tourist" was reported to have climbed up to the plateau. He was an Italian priest called Fransesco Negri. It took him more than two years on foot, by boat, on horseback, on sleighs and on skis. In 1664, finally having reached his destination, he noted in his travel log: "Here I am now on the North cape, at the extreme tip of Finnmark, really at the end of the world"

In the 18th and 19th centuries, a journey to Nordkapp was still an adventure - an expensive one. This is why there were quite a few high-ranking people aming the first tourists - Prince Louise Phillippe of Orleans, Oscar the second, King of Norway and Sweden, King Chualalonkorn of Thailand. He got his name and date carved into a rock on the top of the plateau. This rock can be seen in the Panorama hall in front of the souvenir shop. And Emperor Wilhelm the second, of Germany.

In 1875, London Travel agent Thomas Cook organized the first group travel to Nordkapp for 24 participants. At that time travelling to Nordkapp was very different compared to how it is now. There was no road leading across the island to the plateau. Travellers were taken by rowing boat from Skarsvåg or Gjesvær to Hornvika, just below the north cape. From there they had to climb up the steep and rocky ravine, to reach heigh of plateau. The first modest wooden buildings started to appear to the plateau. One of those was an hut "Stoppenbrink's Champange Pavilion.


The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Nordkapp


Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Nordkapp - updated Mar 2024

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Nordkapp Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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