North Cape (foreground), Knivskjellodden (background)
North Cape (Norwegian: Nordkapp) is a cape on the island of Magerøya in northern Norway, in the municipality of Nordkapp. Its 307 m high, steep cliff is often referred to as the northernmost point of Europe, located at 71°10′21″N25°47′40″E / 71.1725, 25.79444, 2102.3 km from the North Pole. However, the neighbouring point Knivskjellodden is actually 1,457 metres further north. Moreover, both of these points are situated on an island, which means the northernmost point of mainland Europe is in fact Cape Nordkinn (Kinnarodden), about 20 km from the village of Mehamn.
Map of North Cape, Knivskjellodden and Kinnarodden
The North Cape was named by English explorer Richard Chancellor in 1553 when he passed the cape in the search for a Northeast passage. From then on, it was occasionally visited by daring explorers who climbed the steep cliff face to the plateau; famous visitors include King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway in 1873 and Thailand's King Chulalongkorn in 1907. A road was opened to the North Cape in 1956. Today, the North Cape is a major tourist attraction. It can only be accessed by entry to the Nordkapphallen, an extensive commercial tourist centre that houses a number of exhibits on the Cape's history. The price of visiting the North Cape area is 200 NOK per person (2008).
The North Cape is reached by road through the North Cape Tunnel. Regular buses run from the nearby town of Honningsvåg to the North Cape, and coaches meet the many cruise ships which call at Honningsvåg. The nearest airport is Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (Airport Code: HVG). The Norwegian airline Widerøe services the airport with routes to Tromsø. From Tromsø Airport there are connecting flights to destinations such as Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and London-Stansted.
