Guide to Lofoten

While guiding winter trips to Ryten, we’ve seen it all: frozen toes, soaked jeans, people sliding down on their backsides, and others trying to find their way in the dark with a phone flashlight. It’s funny until it isn’t.

Winter hiking in Lofoten is tough, unpredictable, and sometimes flat-out dangerous. This isn’t meant to scare you — it’s meant to prepare you. In this guide, we’ll give you the unfiltered truth about what winter hiking here is really like: the weather, the daylight, avalanches, equipment, trail conditions, and finally the mountains themselves. Which ones are possible, which ones are risky, and which ones are an absolute no-go.

Lofoten is, hands down, one of the most stunning places you’ll ever visit on a cruise—dramatic peaks, white-sand beaches, and charming fishing villages. But here’s the catch: You won’t see any of that when you dock in Leknes (Gravdal Port).

Gravdal is an industrial harbor in one of the least exciting parts of Lofoten.

If you want to actually experience what makes Lofoten special, this is one place where you absolutely need to book a shore excursion—either through your cruise line or with a local tour company.
Why? Because if you don’t book a tour or rent a car, you’ll be stuck in the port with nothing to do within walking distance, while all the jaw-dropping scenery is just a short drive away—but impossible to reach without transport.

Reinebringen is one of Lofoten’s crown jewels, offering breathtaking views of Reine and Reinefjorden that attract around 250,000 visitors every year. If you’ve hiked up those famous Sherpa stairs, you know it’s not an easy feat, but the reward at the top is unforgettable.

Now, there’s a proposal to make that view more accessible—a cable car.

The gondola and expanded infrastructure are being planned for visitors like you—to make Reinebringen more accessible. But is this really what you want?