I flew to Tromsø to begin a long bikepacking tour of the west coast.

Sadly, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) accepted money from me ➙ then didn’t deliver my bicycle and gear to Norway. It sat untouched at Heathrow airport for days. 🤨

Airlines should not offer flights if they don’t have what they need to deliver.

On the upside, there is excellent hiking out of Tromsø.

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Tromsø is 350 kilometres (217 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.  The summer sun doesn’t set until July 27th.  I was there July 24th.

At 69°, it is north of Reykjavík, for example. 

On my only other hiking trip to Norway I made it as far north as the Lofoten Islands, but not to Tromsø.

I climbed over 1200 stone steps built by Nepalese starting 2016. In Norwegian, they are called the Sherpatrappa.

Most people stop at the restaurant atop the cable car. There’s an excellent view from the deck and atop a nearby rock cliff.

But if you continue UP look for a climbing hut known as Steinbøhytta. You can sleep there for free.

This day there were a number of reindeer grazing. They seemed unperturbed by hikers — but this big male reacted badly when encountering my backpack unexpectedly. Perhaps it looked something like a carnivore in the rocks.

You can drive or take a bus to the start. But many simply walk across the bridge from town, visiting the Arctic Cathedral on the way.

If you get to remote Tromsø, don’t miss this vista.

I took the Sherpa stairs back down. But there are alternative trails descending.

AllTrails recommends a loop they call Sherpatrappa and Dalbergstien.

related – 7 Easy Hikes With Spectacular Views In Tromso, Norway