Alta is the largest town in the county of Finnmark, in Northern Norway. Alta is the regional hub and has some 21,000 inhabitants (2022). The town is found at the inner or eastern end of Altafjorden. The town is the centre for Alta municipality (Norwegian: Alta kommune, Sámi: Álttá suohkan), which includes Altafjorden and adjacent fjords, islands and valleys. Alta is an entry point to the great Finnmarksvidda.
The town centre stretches over a relatively wide area. Elvebakken area near the river mouth is also home to the airport that is virtually in the centre. The second historical part of the centre is Bossekop (Sami: Bossugohppi). A new centre has emerged between the two. The tourist information seems to move around on a daily basis, so the first thing you might do is wind up travelling all over Alta looking for it.
Alta is not a large city, but distances inside it are larger than might be expected. E6 is 12 km long inside the densely populated area.
1 Prehistoric rock carvings. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Rock art is found in five separate areas in Alta, the largest and the one available to the public at Hjemmeluft/Jiepmaluokta, where Alta Museum is situated. In the summer season, groups are offered guided tours to the rock carvings. In the winter, the carvings are covered with snow, and not available to the public. They were made by hunters and fishers in the Late Stone Age/Early Metal Age, between 6200 and 2000 years ago.
1 Raipas (see). A point on the world heritage listed Struve Geodetic Arc, around 250 m ASL, requires a few kilometres of hiking up the hill, at leat a few kilometres more along roads unless you drive to the parking. GLØD, Klekkeriet – Kulturnæringshus, Vesterhaugveien 1, Bossekop, ☏ +47 99-79-42-56, post@glodalta.no. Local organizer of Aurora Borealis hunting expeditions. Also offers: cross country skiing, snowshoeing, canoeing and mountain biking guided tours. Horisont Husky AS (in the Reisa Valley, Storslett), ☏ +47 97-71-61-75, roy@horisonthusky.no. Norwegian dog sledding company that offers dog sledding tours in northern Norway with Alaskan huskies. (updated May 2022)
Det Lille Kjøkken, Altaveien 256, 9515 Alta, ☏ +47 78-43-15-11. Pizza. (updated Mar 2023)
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Aug, Alta typically sees ~17°C daytime highs and 18 rainy days.
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