Holidays at the Arctic Circle - Norway's Lofoten at the Limit | ARTE Re

15 degrees instead of heat wave: Lofoten in northern Norway is becoming a destination for more and more holidaymakers for whom the south of Europe is now too hot. But the onslaught of tourists pushes nature and inhabitants to their limits ... Instead of sweating in Italy, Milanese Alessandra Petrei and Mattia Canciani are looking for a cool break in the far north with their motorhome and dog Chopin. They are not alone. With just 25,000 inhabitants, there are now over one million annual visitors who holiday on the rough archipelago 200 kilometres above the Arctic Circle. But the onslaught leaves traces: beaten paths, trampled meadows and overcrowded hotspots like the mountain Reinebringen. To protect the sensitive nature, Nepalese Sherpas have been building stairs of tons of stone blocks for over 20 years. This is to secure the steep and dirt trails – a centuries-old craftsmanship from the Himalayas, financed by the Norwegian state. How much rush does the sensitive nature tolerate and who decides when it is too much? This is a question that also heats the minds of the Lofoten people. Ranger Peter Andresen from Lofoten Friluftsråd tries to mediate between nature conservation, tourism and locals. The local