01 December 2019, by Oana Badiu
Before we go into the best places to visit and photograph on Senja, here is some useful information about this island.
Senja is an island in Northern Norway, located between Tromsø and Lofoten, but it's less touristic than Lofoten, which makes this island a heaven for outdoor people who enjoy hiking and even just driving through the beautiful fjords and sharp mountains. Senja attracts landscape photographers from all over the world!
If you plan a visit through Northern Norway, Senja definitely deserves a few nights of your holiday! If you are coming from Tromsø, you can either drive to Senja or take a ferry from Brensholmen. If you are coming from Bodø, you need to drive through Lofoten and then to Senja or follow the scenic route, which takes you through Andøya and then you can take a ferry from Andenes to Gryllefjord.
We visited Senja in mid August and we stayed for 2 nights at a cottage in Fjordbotn camping. The cottage we stayed in was like a mini apartment with 2 "bedrooms", a living room and a tiny kitchen. This was the best cottage we stayed in Northern Norway and also probably the cheapest. We paid 266€ for 2 nights. It has also quite many places for trailers and camper-vans. The cottage has a beautiful view towards Fjordbotn and it's an awesome place to enjoy the midnight sun!
You can book a cottage on Senja Island via booking.com.
To be honest you can pretty much stop anywhere on this island and you will get some great landscape photographs, however there are some spots that are thought to be the best photography places and you shouldn't miss them!
You have probably seen this Segla mountain peak from the picture above everywhere you have read about Senja island! This is the most famous mountain peak on Senja island, however the best photo of this peak is to be taken from its neighbouring mountain, Hesten. You don't even need to go all the way to the top of Hesten to get a great picture! Instead of going up towards Hesten's peak, just turn left towards the edge and you'll get to the most scenic spot on Senja!
If you do manage to get to Hesten's peak you will be rewarded with even greater landscapes! For the best photos you should go hiking during the midnight sun.
Fjordgård is the village where you should park your car in order to get to Segla or Hesten mountain peaks. The view of the mountains is spectacular also from the village, not only from the mountain peaks.
Mefjordbotn is a beautiful little village with very sharp mountains and a really scenic road leading towards it. You can stop by the side of the road and check out the surroundings.
You can see Segla and Hesten mountain peaks from Senjahopen. In the picture above the highest peak is Segla and the neighbouring peak is Hesten.
Husøy is a small village that is built on a very small island. The landscape around Husøy is very impressive with tall mountains around Øyfjorden. The picture from above was taken by drone.
Tungeneset viewpoint provides incredible views over Ersfjord of sharp mountains and rocks. There is a special platform built here, which means that you just need to walk for 3 minutes from the parking place to reach the awesome view! Tip: stop at Tungeneset at sunset!
Bergsbotn village has awesome views towards Nordfjorden and Skolpan mountain. Unfortunately it's not easy to find a parking place here and you'll need to go through some tall grass to get to the beach in order to take a picture. Look for the small paths between the grass by the side of road.
A short drive away from Bergsbotn towards Skolpan mountain is actually my favorite view of Senja island! This is called the Bergsbotn platform and it is actually a wooden platform build by the side of the road where you can enjoy the mountain views on all sides!
Hamn is a small village built on small islands and it's a good place to stop and eat something at the Hamn i Senja travel resort restaurant. There are some short nature walks around Hamn and Sukkertoppen trail is also near by.
Gryllefjord is a village between sharp mountains and it's also the place where you can take the ferry towards Andenes, Andøya. The picture above was taken by a drone.
At the end of Gryllefjord there is a bench where you can enjoy the views towards the Gryllefjord and the neighbouring mountains at sunset.
On the roads of Senja I wanted to stop almost every 5 minutes because the views were just so incredible! The best part was driving around just before the sunset, where entire valleys would turn yellow and orange! I also liked Senja because it wasn't crowded at all, so it had a sense of wilderness and silence, which I enjoyed to the fullest!
