The ferry from Sommaroy to Senja island took 40 minutes. From the ferry dock we drove over the island to the western side and visited some stunning viewpoints. First up was Mefjordbotn Pier. We were the only ones there, and maybe for good reason, as there were several holes in the pier!
Excellent spot for a selfie though!
Senja has a lot of tunnels, so be prepared if you drive here. At least one was one-way, and several others SHOULD BE! There are turnouts inside the tunnels about every 500 meters, so if you see a car coming, use them. We had to back up at one point as we came bumper to bumper with a huge bus!
Shortly after exiting one of the longer tunnels we saw these mountains. The tall one on the right is called Segla, and we are staying just on the other side of this mountain in the little town of Fjordgard. To the left of Segla is a mountain called Hesten. The perspective of these mountains, and the saddle between them, is important based on a hike we did the next day.
The next viewpoint is called Tungeneset, and has quite the ornate wooden pathway to the rocky point.
As usual, the views are incredible!
We then drove to one more viewpoint for the day, this one called Bergsbotn. They love their funky woodwork!
It was a bit crowded here, but we were able to wait and get the place somewhat to ourselves.
Selfie time! People were nice enough to let us take the photo without walking past us.
This is the viewing platform from the parking lot. The design of the platform is a testament to their engineering and taking advantage of the landscape. The Norwegians know what they are doing!
We were on Senja for two days, so on day two we took a hike up to the saddle between Segla and Hesten Mountains…the ones we mentioned previously. Along the way you could see this protective barrier that the little town of Fjordgard set up for potential avalanches. We saw something similar in Iceland.
As we neared the saddle between the peaks we got a good view of Fjordgard down below. The hike was a lot steeper than this photo implies.
The most impressive mountain on Senja is Segla, and the majesty of the peak is just stunning! The drop-off on the other side of this saddle is 1200 feet straight down.
I took this shot with Kim in the foreground to give the setting more perspective. This was a perfect spot for our picnic lunch. If you zoom in (click on) the photo you’ll see a hanging lake on the other side of the fjord on the right. We are truly getting spoiled with beauty on this trip!
From the same spot where we had our picnic I took a photo towards the west. The rock outcropping seemed to perfectly frame the background scene. Just gorgeous!
If you come to Senja you must do this hike. You don’t need to summit Segla or Hesten, the saddle will give you the view of Segla.
The next morning we got up extra early to make our way to the ferry to our next destination, Vesteralen Island. I had read that there were issues with this ferry line filling up well before the 1100 departure, so we got up at 0530 and drove at breakneck speed to make it there as early as possible….only to be 6th in line. Sigh. It was a Sunday and nothing was open, so it was a long wait (without coffee) for the ferry at 1100!! Grrr!
Up next, we spend two days in the Vesteralen Islands, and see more incredible views!!
