NATURE EXPERIENCES

Midnight Sun or the Northern Lights

Andøy is famous for the fantastic opportunities to experience the ever changing Arctic light. Whether you enjoy the midnight sun from one of our many sandy beaches or the amazing Northern Lights dancing over the sky during the dark winter months - it is equally stunning and pure magic!

The Norwegian Scenic Route

The Norwegian Scenic Route Andøya opened on the 30th of June 2012 and is a 51-kilometre-long stretch of road between Andenes and Åkneskrysset on the west coast of Andøy. A trip along the road offers magnificent views of long white sandy beaches, cragged peaks and the vast open ocean – the home of whales. 

Hiking

Andøy has 231 kilometers of shoreline and Bleik beach is a 2.5 kilometers long sandy beach. Andøy`s highest mountain is Skrivartind on the island of Hinnøya, 890 metres above sea level. Ramnan peaks and Måtind, in the northern part of Andøya, are popular destinations for hikers. 

Geology

Andøya has been described as a “geology textbook”, with the youngest and oldest type of rock found here. Bleik was probably the only ice-free place in Norway during the last Ice Age, and the Bleik moraine is the oldest in the country. The Ramså field on the eastern side of Andøya is the only place on the Norwegian mainland with stone coal and fossils from the Jurassic limestone period. Three of the marshy areas of Andøya are nature reserves. The largest of these is Skogvoll on the west coast. Andøy is also one of Norway`s best known cloudberry areas. 

Andøy has been shaped by the rough Norwegian Sea. The fishing hamlets of Bleik and Nordmela reflect the interplay between people and the harshness of nature over the course of millennia. There are traces of Stone Age human settlement here. At Bakkan near Bø there are remains of two Iron Age farms and one mediaeval farm.