Nordingrå
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Nordingrå

Nordingrå

High Coast church village surrounded by red granite cliffs, fishing harbours, and post-glacial shoreline

Nordingrå is a church village at the heart of the High Coast, the UNESCO-listed stretch of Sweden's Bothnian coastline where post-glacial land uplift has created a dramatic landscape of steep granite hills, sheltered inlets, and old fishing harbours.

The surroundings are famous for their beauty — the Rotsidan red granite cliffs, the lighthouse on the island of Högbonden, and the quiet coves where you can swim in summer make this one of the most scenic areas in northern Sweden. The fishing harbour at Bönhamn and the eccentric outdoor museum Mannaminne are essential stops. The pace of life here is slow and deliberate, which is exactly the point.

Guide

Eating Out

Food here is simple, seasonal, and based on what comes out of the Bothnian Sea. Surströmming, the famously fermented herring of northern Sweden, is the local speciality, traditionally eaten in late summer with thin tunnbröd, potatoes, sour cream, and onion. The smell is famous, the taste is far more interesting than the reputation suggests, and locals will treat you like family if you try it.

Several small cafés around the village serve homemade cakes and fika coffee through the summer; the café at Mannaminne and Fjällbo Café at Bönhamn are particularly good. For sit-down meals, Mannaminnes Restaurang does decent Swedish husmanskost, and the restaurants at the High Coast Hotel in Hornöberget look out over the bridge and the islands.

Guide

Getting There

Nordingrå sits halfway between Stockholm and Umeå and is most easily reached by car: the E4 runs along the coast a few kilometres inland, and the turn-off at Docksta drops you into the heart of the area in about ten minutes.

The nearest railway station is Härnösand to the south (about 60 km) or Örnsköldsvik to the north (about 45 km), both on the Botniabanan line from Stockholm. From either you will need a bus or taxi for the last stretch; in summer there are also occasional shuttle buses to the main High Coast attractions. Höga Kusten Airport at Kramfors-Sollefteå handles a few flights from Stockholm.

Driving from Stockholm takes about six hours; from Umeå around two and a half.

Guide

Things to Do

This is hiking, swimming, and slow-driving country. Walk a stretch of the High Coast Trail, swim off the smooth red rocks at Rotsidan, climb up to the lighthouse on Högbonden island, or just drive slowly between the little fishing villages and stop where the view makes you stop. In June and July the sun barely sets.

Guide

When to Go

The High Coast is at its best from late June to mid-August. The days are very long — at midsummer the sun barely sets — the rocks are warm enough to swim from, and the fishing harbours are open for business. July is the warmest and busiest month.

September is quieter and the autumn colours in the forested hills are beautiful. From October to April most facilities are closed, the ferries to Högbonden don't run, and the daylight is brief. If you come in winter, come for the snow and the silence, not for the sights.