Ifjord, or Idjavuotna in Northern Sami, is a handful of houses at the bottom of Ifjorden, a branch of Laksefjorden in Lebesby municipality. It sits on County Road 98, the inland route connecting the E6 at Lakselv to the E6 at Tana Bru, and for most of that 160-kilometre drive you will see nothing but open plateau, empty valleys, and the occasional reindeer.
Ifjord is the only thing resembling a settlement on this stretch. There is a small shop that doubles as a fuel stop, and that is about it. The landscape around it is Finnmarksvidda at its most stark: treeless, windswept, and beautiful in a way that requires patience to appreciate.
The drive itself is one of the loneliest in Norway. In winter, the road can close without warning in severe weather, and even in summer it carries almost no traffic. For anyone crossing Finnmark on the Rv98 rather than the coastal E6, Ifjord is the midpoint, the place where you realise how empty this part of Norway really is. Fill up the tank if you can.
Ifjord is the only thing resembling a settlement on this stretch. There is a small shop that doubles as a fuel stop, and that is about it. The landscape around it is Finnmarksvidda at its most stark: treeless, windswept, and beautiful in a way that requires patience to appreciate.
The drive itself is one of the loneliest in Norway. In winter, the road can close without warning in severe weather, and even in summer it carries almost no traffic. For anyone crossing Finnmark on the Rv98 rather than the coastal E6, Ifjord is the midpoint, the place where you realise how empty this part of Norway really is. Fill up the tank if you can.