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Nordland » Visit Vega

The world's most beautiful coastline and a World Heritage site

The island of Vega is situated in mid-Norway, just outside Brønnøysund in Nordland county. Vega is the main island in a unique archipelago of 6,500 islands, islets and skerries. The area was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004, based on the criterion that "the Vega archipelago reflects the way generations of fishermen/farmers have, over the past 1500 years, maintained a sustainable living in an inhospitable seascape near the Arctic Circle, based on the now unique practice of eider down harvesting, and it also celebrate the contribution made by women to the eider down process".

A walking tour in Vega yields fascinating insights into life in the old egg and down harvesting communities and in the now restored fishing villages of Skjærvær and Bremstein. Boat trips through these islands leave several times a week from mid-June to mid-August. Overnight accommodation is also available in some of the island villages. At Lånan you can help make king size eiderdown duvets.

When you come to Vega you forget the outside world; you can feel your shoulders relax as you calm down and take in the fresh sea air and the cries of the gulls. At the eider museum you will meet Inga, who will tell you all about the interaction between man and nature characteristic of the eiderdown industry.

Vega can be savoured slowly. The level terrain and good roads make cycling a pleasure. How about cycling from island to island along the Helgeland coast, or paddling through northern Europe's largest shoal area with a rich contingent of birdlife for company?

How to travel to Vega
You reach Vega by air, flying with Widerøe from Trondheim or Bodø to Brønnøysund or Sandnessjøen; the Hurtigrute (coastal steamer) also serves Brønnøysund. Scheduled ferries and express services run from Horn/Brønnøysund and Sandnessjøen or Brønnøysund respectively.

Recommended accommodation and eating places:

  • On the Island of Vega:
  • On the small islands outside of Vega:
    • Gåkkå Mathus, on the island Hysvær, tlf. +47 950 85 221
    • Skogsholmen Gjestehus, on the island of Skogsholmen, tlf. +47 488 85 422
    • Utværet Lånan, on the small island of Lånan, www.lanan.no, tlf. +47 452 72 654
    • Fiskarheimen Ylvingen, on the small island Ylvingen, tlf. +47 975 70 965
   
Visit Vega
Visit Vega
Gladstad, N-8980 Vega
Tel: +47 7503 5388
Fax: +47 7503 5101
 
 
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