Alta, Norway Packing List for Women: The Northern Lights City

Photograph: The Northern Lights Cathedral, Alta by Stch2022, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Alta is the largest town in Finnmark, Norway's northernmost county, set at the head of the Altafjord where the Alta river meets the sea, and it calls itself the Northern Lights City. Around 16,000 people live in the town, which is a working regional centre with an airport, a university campus and a long spread of suburbs rather than a postcard village. Visitors come for two reasons, in two seasons: the aurora in the long dark winter, and the prehistoric rock carvings that are open in summer. Packing for Alta means packing for real Arctic cold, for weeks without sunrise, for weeks without sunset, and for standing still outside at night for hours.

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This is Alta in Arctic Norway. It is not Alta in Utah, a small town of a few hundred people with a ski area above Salt Lake City, which is covered in the Salt Lake City packing list. The photograph above shows the Northern Lights Cathedral on a bright summer day: a slim spiralling tower clad in grey metal panels rising from a round body that climbs in curving bands, a glass front with tall narrow windows and a small cross over the doors, apartment blocks to the left and a distant snow-streaked hill on the far right, under a blue sky full of white clouds. What the frame cannot show is the reason most people come. There are no northern lights in it, no snow on the ground, none of the winter darkness, no rock carvings, no fjord and no river. It is Alta's most photographed building in daylight, which is honest, but the town's real subject happens at night and on the shore.

What Is Here

Alta is a young town in an old place. The town itself was formed only in 2000, when the neighbouring villages of Bossekop, Elvebakken and Alta were joined, and the travel guide warns that distances inside it are larger than you would expect, with the main E6 road running for about 12 kilometres through the built-up area. Almost everything was rebuilt after the Second World War: the German battleship Tirpitz sheltered in Kafjorden, an arm of the Altafjord, and was attacked there by Allied aircraft, and near the end of the war the town was largely destroyed by fire. The travel guide records that in the town of Alta only the church remained.

The town has a more recent history that matters too. In 1979 the Alta controversy made headlines across Norway for weeks, as Sami people and environmentalists used demonstrations and civil disobedience to try to stop a hydroelectric dam on the Alta river. The dam was built, but the protest is remembered as an important moment in Sami empowerment as an indigenous people. Alta is also the starting point for the Finnmarkslopet, a sled dog race over 500 and 1,000 kilometres held in the winter.

The Northern Lights Cathedral

The building in our photograph is the town's landmark. Consecrated on 10 February 2013, it was designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects with Link Arkitektur and built of concrete and wood clad in sheets of titanium, with a large spiral rising to a belfry. Inside is artwork by Peter Brandes. It replaced the old Alta church as the main church of the parish. Strictly it is a parish church rather than a cathedral, and even the bishop who consecrated it admitted the name was contentious, but the name has stuck. Visit in daylight and come back after dark, when the metal catches whatever light there is.

The Rock Carvings at Hjemmeluft

Alta's rock carvings have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 3 December 1985. The first were discovered in 1973, and more than 6,000 have since been found around Alta. The largest site, at Jiepmaluokta, which visitors know as Hjemmeluft, is an open-air museum with kilometres of wooden walkways between the museum building and the shore. The carvings were made over thousands of years by hunter-gatherers, and the encyclopaedia describes reindeer as the dominant subject, with elk, birds, fish, hunting and fishing scenes, boats of growing size and a special place for bears. Because the land has been rising since the last ice age, carvings made at the shoreline now sit well inland.

Timing is everything here. The travel guide says that in winter the carvings are covered with snow and are not available to the public, and that guided tours run in the summer season. The museum, which won the European Museum of the Year Award in 1993, also covers Sami culture and the aurora. Check the Alta Museum for current opening and tours before you plan around them.

When to Go

Alta has two very different seasons. The long term averages give January days of about minus 3C and nights of about minus 10C, July days of about 18C, and low precipitation, about 440 millimetres a year. The encyclopaedia notes that Alta is less cold than is typical for 70 degrees north, and that its frequent clear skies are why it was chosen early as a place to study the aurora. The FCDO, for Norway as a whole, says winter is long and can last well into April, that temperatures can drop to minus 25C and below, and that there is a high wind chill factor in unsheltered areas.

Light decides the trip. The midnight sun stays above the horizon from 18 May to 27 July, and the polar night, when the sun does not rise, runs from 26 November to 16 January. For the aurora, come in the dark months and give yourself several nights, because cloud and solar activity decide whether you see anything. For the carvings, come in summer, when the light never fades and the walkways are clear.

Getting There

Alta's airport sits almost in the town, at Elvebakken near the river mouth, and the travel guide says Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian fly from Oslo and Tromso, with an airport bus of about ten minutes into the centre. By road, Alta is on the E6, Norway's main north to south road, and it is where the E45 from Finland ends. Driving from southern Scandinavia is a very long journey, so most visitors fly.

If you drive in winter, the FCDO says you must use winter tyres with at least 3 millimetres of tread when roads are covered in snow or ice, and may need studded tyres or chains; the full requirements are published by Norway's State Highways. Headlights must be dipped and on during the day all year, and drink driving is treated very seriously, at a limit a quarter of England's. Many aurora visitors avoid winter driving entirely and join a guided tour that drives out of town to find clear skies.

Is Alta Safe for Women Travelers

The FCDO names no area of mainland Norway that it advises against, and Alta is a calm, orderly town where crime is not the main concern. The FCDO says there is a small risk of petty theft, particularly at airports and stations around Oslo, which you may pass through on the way north, that terrorist attacks in Norway cannot be ruled out, and that demonstrations are usually peaceful.

The real risks in Alta are cold, dark and distance. The FCDO points out that nearly half of Norway is inside the Arctic Circle, including very remote land and sea, and that emergency medical assistance and search and rescue are limited in those areas. On an aurora night you may be standing outside for hours in deep cold, far from town, which is where frostbite and hypothermia begin. Tell someone where you are going, go with a reputable guide if you are new to Arctic winter, and never set off alone onto frozen lakes or into the hills at night. If you ski, snowshoe or walk in the mountains, check the avalanche forecast from the Norwegian Avalanche Warning Service, as the FCDO advises. In summer, police enforce bans on campfires in many hiking areas.

For a woman travelling alone, the honest picture is reassuring: Alta is a small, orderly town, and the ordinary precautions of any town apply after dark. The darkness itself is the thing to plan for. Carry a light, wear reflective gear on roads, keep your phone charged in an inside pocket where the cold will not drain it, and arrange transport back from aurora tours in advance.

The Alta Packing List

Layering is everything in the Arctic, and it starts at the skin. Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the foundation of every outfit here: it stays warm when damp, it does not hold smells through several days of wear, and it is comfortable indoors, which matters when you step from the frozen street into an overheated cafe. In summer it is the single warm layer you need under a jacket on a cool fjord evening.

For Aurora Nights

Over the base layers, an insulated jacket such as the Columbia Powder Lite hooded jacket keeps heat in while you wait, and warm, waterproof insulated snow boots matter more than anything else, because cold feet end aurora nights early. A merino beanie and insulated Thinsulate winter gloves with touchscreen fingertips let you work your phone camera without exposing bare hands.

For Ice and Darkness

Pavements in Alta are often icy for months, and Kahtoola MICROspikes slip over your boots and stop falls on hard-packed snow and ice. During the polar night a rechargeable headlamp is useful in town and the most useful thing you can carry away from street lights. That is our sixth affiliate link, which is our limit per post, so we have left out a link for thermal leggings; pack warm leggings or base layer bottoms anyway.

For Summer

In summer, the same base layer, a light rain jacket and comfortable walking shoes are enough for the carvings and the town. Bring an eye mask for the midnight sun, and sunglasses for the low light on water and snow; our affiliate register carries no eyewear and no sunscreen, so bring your own.

Recommended Tours and Experiences

Essential Resources for Women in Alta

Emergency numbers: fire 110, police 112, ambulance 113, according to the FCDO's getting help page. Its health page says to dial 113 and ask for an ambulance.

Medical care: the FCDO says UK nationals can use a UK passport for free state-provided treatment in hospitals, that some doctors may charge elsewhere, and that a Global Health Insurance Card or European Health Insurance Card can also be used for medically necessary care. Hospitals in the county are run by Finnmark hospital trust; ask your accommodation where the nearest emergency service is when you arrive. The FCDO keeps a list of medical providers in Norway. Because search and rescue is limited in remote Arctic areas, carry insurance that covers rescue, evacuation and repatriation.

Avalanche and road conditions: the Norwegian Avalanche Warning Service publishes avalanche forecasts, and Norway's State Highways publishes winter tyre rules.

US State Department travel advisory: the Norway advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.

UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/norway, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.

Official health authority: Helsenorge, the Norwegian public health service portal.

US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Oslo, is in Oslo, a flight away from Finnmark.

Official tourism authority: Visit Norway, the official travel guide, covers the whole country, including Finnmark.

Solo women safety assessment: Alta is a small, quiet and safe feeling town, and the FCDO names no area of mainland Norway it advises against. The realistic risks are the environment: cold that can fall to minus 25C and below, wind chill, ice underfoot, long darkness, and the distance help may have to travel in remote Arctic country. Dress in layers, keep your phone warm and charged, tell someone your plans, take aurora trips with a guide if you are new to the Arctic, and remember that 113 is the ambulance number and 112 the police.

Takeaways

Come to Alta in the dark months for the northern lights and in summer for the rock carvings and the midnight sun, and see the spiral cathedral in both. Pack for real Arctic cold in winter, with a merino base layer at the bottom, insulated boots at the top of the list and traction for the ice, and treat the darkness and the distances with respect.

Reading On

For more of Arctic Norway, read the Tromso packing list, the Nordkapp packing list for the North Cape, and the Karasjok packing list for the Sami heartland inland. Further south along the coast are the Senja packing list and the Lofoten packing list, and most journeys north pass through the capital in the Oslo packing list. The Norway packing list and the Norway travel guide for women cover the whole country. For why one wool layer works from an aurora night to a midnight sun walk, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women, and every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women. The base layers themselves are in the Roman Trail collection.

If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.