What happens when eight of the world’s best travel writers embark on a seven-day journey to the High North? See the film clips and photos from the tour of Norway’s and Europe’s northernmost region, referred to as “Ultima Thule”.

At the invitation of Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the eight exceptionally well-travelled writers packed their cases to travel as far north as it is possible to get in Norway and Europe, and further north than any of them had been before. The tour was given the name “Ultima Thule”, the name used by Greek and Roman geographers for what they imagined to be the northernmost land in the inhabitable world.

The tour started in Oslo, moving on to Svalbard (via Tromsø) then to Hammerfest and Kirkenes on the mainland  (see map). The authors gained insight into a number of important topics: climate change, indigenous populations, natural resources, tourism and Norway’s cooperation with Russia.

You can watch film clips showing highlights from the trip and hear the writers’ observations by clicking on the links given further down this page.

The authors who participated in the journey were, from left to right: Thomas Boberg (Denmark), Cees Nooteboom (the Netherlands), Alberto Manguel (Canada), Lieve Joris (Belgium), Redmond O’Hanlon (the UK), Kjartan Fløgstad (Norway), Marc de Gouvenain (France), and Tête-Michel Kpomassie (Togo). Photo: Bjarne Riesto


 

Video: The journey to Ultima Thule

Gain an impression of the places and people from the tour of Tromsø, Svalbard, Hammerfest and Kirkenes. (Length of clip: 3 minutes).

Video: Get to know the authors 

Travel is a source of inspiration. Find out more about the writers’ impressions of the trip, and listen to them read from their own texts. (Use the navigation function in the video window to browse between the various authors).

Video: Postcards from the authors

Usually, the authors write books that are several hundred pages long. On this trip they were asked to jot down their thoughts on a single postcard. (Use the navigation function in the video window to browse between the different postcards).

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs