Leknes is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Vestvågøy (the largest municipality in Lofoten and Vesterålen by population) in Nordland county in Norway. The town is located in the geographic centre of the Lofoten Islands, about 68 km west of Svolvær and 65 km east of the town of Ø. The town’s population is 2,661.
Leknes is the shopping centre of the Lofoten Islands, competing only with Svolvær. Leknes is one of the few towns on the Lofoten Islands that is not based on fishing and whose centre is not located on the sea. For these reasons, and also due to rapid development in recent years, it lacks the traditional wooden architecture found in the other towns of Lofoten and is not as picturesque as the neighbouring fishing villages. However, its natural landscape, with mountains, peaks, cliffs and white sandy beaches, is considered one of the most magnificent in Norway. The town harbour is one of the most important in Norway and the one visited by the most cruise ships. The midnight sun in Leknes lasts from 26 May to 17 July, and the polar night-from 9 December to 4 January.
High mountains dominate the coastline of the island of Vestvågøy, and the western shore also has white sandy beaches. Uttakleiv is the most romantic beach in Europe according to the British newspaper The Times; the neighbouring Hauklandstranden is ranked as the best beach in Norway by the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.
The Lofoten Islands are an archipelago in the Norwegian Sea off the north-west coast of Norway. The area of the archipelago is 1,227 km². The islands are rocky and are separated mainly by narrow straits. The maximum elevation is 1,161 m above sea level. They are separated from mainland Norway by the Vestfjord. Between the islands of Færø and Moskenesø lies the famous Maelstrom whirlpool. The archipelago consists of several large islands and many islets and rocks.
ClimateAlthough the archipelago lies beyond the Arctic Circle, also north of the cold poles of Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon, thanks to the Gulf Stream’s influence on the southern islands of the archipelago, the temperature in the coldest month is still above zero. In summer, it is cool but dry in Lofoten. The average temperature in July is +15°C. The ocean water is quite chilly, but in summer it can warm up to +17°C.
