Mines and Canyons in Birtavarre

18/09/2025

After checking out from the campsite we made our way back towards Olderdalen, though the weather was anything but welcoming — rain and heavy clouds clung to the hills while we set out on a hike that had long been on our list.

Gorsa Bridge

We left the main road at Birtavarre and drove up into the valley behind the village. Passing a string of farmhouses we eventually reached a gateway where the road became a dirt track. This is a private road and going any further would cost us 200 NOK. This would allow us to stay overnight though so we were quite happy to carry on. It would be a bit much to pay for a quick visit.

As we drove up the track we scoped out a couple of parking spots for our overnight stay. There was one just where the private road starts. A second, on flat ground near the river, was where we ended up staying the night. This was also where we had intended to walk from, a hike that would have taken us up one side of the river, over the Gorsabrua and down the other. But the weather wasnt good enough to encourage us out of the van, so for the moment we continued to ascend the dirt track. By the time we reached the third car park the track was becoming steeper and rougher, the damp gravel under our wheels slippy from the constant drizzle. After navigating the hairpin bend into this car park we decided enough was enough. We would have to start using our feet. There was definitely one more parking spot above us, as we found when we walked up the rest of the way to the Gorsa Bridge, but we didn’t want to drive any further.

Wearing full wet-weather gear, we left the vehicle and followed the gravel track in the gentle drizzle. We followed the path which diverted off the track parallel with the river, the gorge beside us getting deeper as we climbed. Looking back, the scene below was fascinating: clouds lingering in the valley, while above us the ragged edges of the sky began to brighten in the drier air.

The Gorsabrua is an aluminium bridge spanning a narrow gap over the gorge which is over 140m above the river at this point. It’s high enough to offer people the opportunity to bungee jump. No-one was attempting any such death defying feats in this weather.

As we approached the bridge we had a short descent where we could see the river stepping down between rocky walls of a small canyon. We could see it disappearing over the edge but it wasn’t until we rounded the corner that we could see the long narrow ribbon of water dropping into the chasm below where it disappeared into the misty narrows.

Across the bridge a path leads down the other side of the canyon. It’s steeper and more exposed, we had already forgone the opportunity for this longer walk and were quite glad not to be taking any risks on wet and slippery rock. For us it was just a short couple of kms back the way we had come to the van

Vuoksajohka Waterfall

With our short hike complete, we still had time up our sleeves, so we drove back to the village of Birtavarre. We fuelled up, then parked near the football stadium by a sign that warned of “No Camping” — we weren’t staying, so we figured it was fine.

A path out of the car park led us through a disc golf course into the woods at the valley’s edge. We squished our way along boggy trails to the bottom of the waterfall which cascaded in tiers above us. To try to get a better view we climbed up the side of a couple of tiers but soon had to give up as the mud and moss was just too much hard work. Still — it was a pleasant stop with the water’s rhythm, the damp forest air, and the hidden nature of the spot.

Ankerlia

Back at our parking spot the weather had dried out even more so we ventured out for an early evening explore. We walked across the raw yellow wood of the new bridge, to the bizarre barren landscape of Ankerlia.

Hard to believe this is the same river we saw from the bridge

Ankerlia is the remains of a smelting and processing plant for the mines of the Birtavarre valley which were in operation at the beginning of the 20th century. The ruins were left to decay after the mine closed in 2019 and are now part of an open air museum. Anyone can clamber around the old buildings and equipment and a few signs explain what the various buildings were used for. Twisted and rusting metal is all that remains of the old railroad tracks, the hoppers and the cableways that were used to transport the ore.

Although the mines have closed, mining companies still have claims in the area and could re-start mining for the Copper and Cobalt, but it is unlikely that smelting would ever be carried out here again. The alien landscape of rocky layers, slag and industrial detritus in warm rusty colours is taking a long time to recover from these industrial processes and hopefully no one would want to create such a scar on this otherwise beautiful landscape again.