Scandinavia makes a thrilling playground for the adventurous in any season, and every year activity companies offer better and better access to wilderness.
The region’s rivers present an exhilarating challenge for white water rafters: the fast-flowing Gevsjöströmmarna, near Åre, is Sweden’s steepest navigable river. Several companies in Norway run rafting trips, including one along the Sjoa River, near Rondane National Park: canyoning and riverboarding are also possible here.
In the winter months, visitors can experience dog-sledging, an ancient form of transport believed to have been around for 4,000 years.
Hunting across packed snow on a dog sledge, pulled by teams of almost-wolves, is truly something out of the ordinary. Wrap up warm and go for a ride in Greenland, in Norway’s Finnmark or Swedish Lappland.
What the Baltic Sea lacks in tropical reefs, it makes up for in shipwrecks – all well preserved thanks to the low saline water and an absence of wood-eating worms. Around 40,000 known wrecks lie on the bottom, from Viking vessels to World War II submarines.
Diving tourism is just beginning to take off in Sweden, with several new companies who can lead divers to these sunken treasures.
Europe’s unspoilt north contains some of the most fascinating creatures on the planet. Whale-watching is a burgeoning industry and the north coast of Norway is a prime place to spot orca, minke and sperm whales from May to September. Greenland has even more species to see, including narwhales.
Visitors can go on a whale-watching safari in towns such as Nuuk and Kulusuuk, and it’s common to see creatures while walking by the shores or fjord sides.
Scandinavian Adventure Activities, written by Tor Kjolberg