The westerly wind blowing in from the open Atlantic into the bay at Unstad is bitingly cold. The exposed location of the Lofoten Islands meets the village at the very edge of the Lofoten Islands and causes us to hunch our shoulders, put our hands in our pockets and feel the urgent need to turn our backs on the wind on our way to Nonstinden. And we'd just set off - if we'd known it was going to be even colder and stormier, would we have turned around and had the World's Best Cinnamon Bun at the Unstad Arctic Surf Center?
Unstad: inaccessible and unforgettable
It's the end of May as we drive north along the long E10 from our cozy accommodation in Ballstad. It runs right through Vestvagøy, into the heart of Lofoten and serves as the lifeline of this unique archipelago in Norway. Around one and a half kilometers before the Lofotr Viking Museum, we leave the well-maintained road and turn west onto a small side road that will take us to Unstad. We pass through a tunnel, then the Saupstad power station and are now in front of the mountain wall between Saupstadtinden, Horgstinden and Nonstinden, which separates Unstad from the rest of Lofoten.
Another 800 m long tunnel sucks us into the darkness and spits us out again shortly afterwards with a view of the open sea. In front of us lies Unstad, consisting of just a few houses, picturesquely nestled in a small, secluded valley that only opens up to the North Atlantic. We roll down the sloping road and park in the parking lot at the front of the beach, which is almost empty at this time of year and is subject to a charge. Unfortunately, in the short Arctic summer, things look very different here and the vans and motorhomes line up bumper to bumper, the small village almost collapses on some days under the flood of surfing enthusiasts and Lofoten tourists. Overtourism at its best.
Circular hike from Unstad to Nonstinden
To avoid any confusion: the name Nonstinden is by no means unique in Norway. The Matterhorn only exists once, whereas Nonstinden seems to exist countless times - and that's just in the Lofoten Islands. It should not be confused with Nonstinden near Ballstad, which is also a wonderful hiking destination and offers unique views of the Lofoten archipelago.
Finding the way and starting our short hike is easy, after all the valley itself is not too big and there is only one clearly visible hiking trail on the northern side of the valley, which takes us away from the icy wind and up around 150 meters in altitude to the Varden pass. We are now standing directly above the road tunnel, with the road coming out of the mountain right below us and leading almost dead straight to the Atlantic Ocean and right into the middle of the colorful houses of Unstad. On the other side, the view opens up into the interior of the Lofoten Islands and right in front of us, the stockfish hung on a dry rack awaits the next stage of its culinary journey.
From here, our actual hike begins, which will take us up to the 480-metre-high Nonstinden and back down to Unstad.
Without a path, but not without a way out
Norway is not exactly known for Swiss conditions on the hiking trails. Where you really have to make an effort to avoid losing your way in the small Alpine country, things are often quite different in Norway. The hiking trail on Nonstinden is no exception: at the beginning, we still find a few tracks in the extensive southern flank between Horgstinden and Nonstinden, but between our frantic arm waving to get rid of the small mosquitoes, we quickly lose these tracks and now have to find a way on our own initiative. However, this is no great problem and climbing cross-country we reach the ridge in front of Nonstinden where, after a pleasant break in the lee, we are now hit by the full wrath of the wind gods.
So first of all, it's time to put your jackets on, hoods up and hands in your pockets. You shouldn't hike in the Lofoten Islands without suitable clothing, even if it seems to be calm and sunny locally. The weather here in the far north can change more quickly than in most other places and the infamous wind chill effect has driven many a person to freezing despair.
Even if we try to hide as much of our bodies as possible under clothing, our eyes remain open and outside. And that's a good thing, because the unique panoramic view from the nearby summit of Nonstinden definitely makes up for the wind and cold. To the south-west of us, we can see the beautiful beach at Utakleiv, which has already been the scene of a near-seamless experience for our shock absorbers and subsequently the starting point for the unique trail run from Haukland via Mannen to Utakleiv. Inland, the view sweeps over countless known and unknown mountain peaks, while the endless Atlantic Ocean dominates the scenery to the west.
Climbing with a sea view
After up comes down and after wind comes calm: Nonstinden can't decide what weather conditions it wants to offer us. After our break at the 480 m high summit was rather short due to the wind, things look very different again after a few hundred meters along the panoramic ridge towards Aksla to the northwest. Incidentally, this Aksla also has nothing to do with its namesake in Ålesund, but what they do have in common is the wonderful view in all directions.
The rest of the descent mostly follows relatively clearly visible tracks directly along the ridge, which even includes a short section of easy climbing over some rocky passages. Not difficult, but falling down is not allowed. Later, we switch to the south-facing flank and thus into the basin between Nonstinden, Vårsetaksla and Medskolmen, in which the small, deep blue lake Utdalsvatnet shimmers. An idyllic sight here directly on the Atlantic coast, which is in no way inferior to a small alpine lake.
The only drawback is the water flowing out of Utdalsvatnet, as this makes the area below the lake, and thus the last stage back to the starting point, one of the typical swampy undertakings that are unfortunately quite common in the Lofoten Islands. But this section also comes to an end and the roaring surf of the sea in the bay of Unstad greets us again with its monotonous but never tiring sound.
The world's best cinnamon buns?
Superlatives are always a tricky thing, especially when you give them to yourself. Nevertheless, rumour has it that the Cinnamon Buns from the Unstad Arctiv Surf Center live up to these claims - just try them out for yourself. In addition to the calories needed for surfing, walking, hiking or other activities, you can also hire surfing equipment here and take your first steps on a surfboard under expert guidance. Overnight accommodation is also available, although the majority of visitors are likely to arrive by camper van: there are official pitches for them on the north-eastern side of the bay, for which a fee is charged.
For us, the short but no less beautiful circular hike from Unstad via Nonstinden has now come to an end and on the way back we do the only thing you can do on the Lofoten Islands at the end of an eventful day: you start planning the next one.
