Best tourist attractions in Alta Norway include Alta’s prehistoric rock drawings, Alta Museum, Sami Siida village, Norwegian Laplander culinary delights, and a cruise on the Alta river.
Alta’s prehistoric rock drawings, of which the oldest are as old as from 4200 BC, from stone and and early iron age, and which are part of the UNESCO list of world heritage, are among the city’s most popular sights.
The rock drawing art can be found at a total of five locations within Alta, of which the most notable is within Hjemmeluft/Jiepmaluokta, where the Alta museum is also located, and which is the only location also available for public tours.
During the summer period, you can participate at guided tours to the rock drawings, and if you order a tour well in advance, there are several language options for the tour. These tours are not available during the winter season.
Alta Museum (www.alta.museum.no), located not too far from the rock drawings, and from where the guided tours to the rock drawings depart from, offers a collection of objects found at the archeological excavations at the area.
The artifacts at the museum’s collection showcase the connection to the culture that created the Alta rock drawings.
At the museum, you can also familiarize yourself with all of the rock drawings through a photography collection, and there is also a collection of objects from the historical Same culture, an exhibition about the Aurora Borealis phenomena, and a showcase about the region’s history.
Among tourist attractions in Alta Norway is also the Sami Siida village (www.sami-siida.no), offering an opportunity to get to know the traditional Sami people’s culture within the region.
Within the nearby areas, it is possible to take different types of tours to these tourist attractions in Alta Norway as organized by, among others, Boazo Sami Siida and VIA Alta Tours (www.destinasjonalta.no).
On the tours, it is possible to hear Sami joik songs and stories about the Same history, and even compete with reindeer sledges.
Another opportunity is to make a day trip to the Karasjok Same village (www.visitnorway.com/no/Artikler/Norge/Nord-Norge/Karasjok/), the Same region’s capital, with a Sapmi theme park and a museum dedicated to the Same culture. The Sami people’s parliament building within the village is also open to the public.
To experience Norwegian Laplander cuisine, one of the best places to do so is at one of the top hotels within the region, Thon Hotel Vica.
The hotel has package deals that include an outdoors spa pool (with water temperature always at +40 degrees Celsius), spa sauna, and a gourmet meal at the top-notch Thon Hotel Vica restaurant.
Thon Hotel Vica (www.thonhotels.com/vica) restaurant “Haldden” has a menu, with such items available as Kamchatka crabs, grilled fish, and lavvu gourmet delicacies, made out of reindeer, and for desserts, some of the highlights are mountain raspberries and blueberry sorbet.
Cruises on the Alta river are organized by VIA Alta Tours (www.altatours.no), using a route, that goes to the Scandinavia’s biggest canyon.
You can participate on the river cruise using a traditional river boat, where a local guide and the boat’s captain participate in making the cruise up the river an enjoyable one.
A typical river cruise departs from the Alta Friluftspark park, goes to the Gabofossen, where the massive Alta-river canyon is located.