Nordkapp/North Cape & Knivskjellodden

Generally, the North Cape is considered the northernmost point of Europe. Unfortunately, that’s not quite correct. First it is not on the European mainland, but situated on the island of Magerøya, and second, a place called Knivskjellodden reaches about 1.5km further to the north and into the Barents Sea. The northernmost point of mainland Europe is Kinnarodden. More about that later.

We got up pretty late and left in the early afternoon. Like pretty much everywhere else in Norway, the road to the North Cape is in very good condition. There are quite some climbs, though. It was cold and foggy and we didn’t see much of the surrounding countryside. Lots of busses passed by, full of passengers of the Hurtigruten and other cruise ships.

We passed by the car park where the hiking track to Knivskjellodden starts. There was no further info on the track there and we continued to the North Cape for now.

All of a sudden a sign popped up in the fog saying the entry to the North Cape was 500m up ahead and the entrance fee would be 215 NOK/person (almost 25 Euros). Quite a steep price for a natural landmark. The gate itself wasn’t visible through the fog yet and we discussed whether we should try and sneak through the fog. However, the fog lifted and we tried to just ride through the gate – and got caught. So we had to pay a reduced fee (for cyclists) of 140 NOK. Even that fee is ridiculous for what’s on offer, however since we knew from the start that entry wouldn’t be free we accepted it.

We rested in the visitors’ hall and took some posing pictures at the globus, at 71°10″21’N, with and without bikes.

Later we rode back to the car park near the Knivskjellodden track. It took us 2h10m to the northernmost point of the Magerøya Island, the Knivskjellodden, at 71°11″21’N. We had a break there and signed the guestbook, then walked back. There were a lot of reindeer grazing; the track is well-trodden and quite muddy at times, however almost always there are some stones available to step on. One has a nice view at the North Cape from Knivskjellodden.

Today I reached the northernmost point of this journey after exactly 9 weeks of travelling and a little over 5000km of cycling.

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