Alta is the largest town in Finnmark and the self-proclaimed dog sledding capital of Norway. With a stable cold climate and easy access to the vast Finnmarksvidda plateau, mushers from across Europe have settled here, turning the town into a hub for Arctic adventure tourism.
The town hosts Finnmarksløpet, Europe's longest sled dog race at 1,200 kilometres, held every March. Teams and their dogs race across the open plateau in conditions that can drop to minus 40 degrees, making it one of the most extreme sporting events on the continent.
Beyond dog sledding, Alta sits at a crossroads. The Altaelva is one of Norway's premier salmon rivers, where fish exceeding 26 kilograms have been landed. The river cuts through Sautso, Northern Europe's largest canyon, just 45 kilometres to the south. And at Hjemmeluft, on the outskirts of town, 6,000 rock carvings up to 7,000 years old earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 1985.
Alta was almost entirely destroyed during the German scorched earth retreat in 1944, when nearly every building in Finnmark was burned. The town was rebuilt from nothing, and it shows. Alta has been voted Norway's ugliest city, competing with Mo i Rana for the dubious honour. The current town centre was built on a bog in the 1980s with practicality, not beauty, in mind. But the locals have been working to change that reputation; the Nordlyskatedralen, opened in 2013, was a statement that Alta could be more than functional concrete. Today the town serves as the main gateway for travellers heading to Nordkapp, the Finnmarksvidda plateau, and the Sami heartland of Kautokeino.
The town hosts Finnmarksløpet, Europe's longest sled dog race at 1,200 kilometres, held every March. Teams and their dogs race across the open plateau in conditions that can drop to minus 40 degrees, making it one of the most extreme sporting events on the continent.
Beyond dog sledding, Alta sits at a crossroads. The Altaelva is one of Norway's premier salmon rivers, where fish exceeding 26 kilograms have been landed. The river cuts through Sautso, Northern Europe's largest canyon, just 45 kilometres to the south. And at Hjemmeluft, on the outskirts of town, 6,000 rock carvings up to 7,000 years old earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 1985.
Alta was almost entirely destroyed during the German scorched earth retreat in 1944, when nearly every building in Finnmark was burned. The town was rebuilt from nothing, and it shows. Alta has been voted Norway's ugliest city, competing with Mo i Rana for the dubious honour. The current town centre was built on a bog in the 1980s with practicality, not beauty, in mind. But the locals have been working to change that reputation; the Nordlyskatedralen, opened in 2013, was a statement that Alta could be more than functional concrete. Today the town serves as the main gateway for travellers heading to Nordkapp, the Finnmarksvidda plateau, and the Sami heartland of Kautokeino.