The Salmon Rivers of 罢谤酶苍诲别濒补驳

The many rivers of central Norway are home to salmon.

It covers 16,000 square miles of central Norway, but聽罢谤酶苍诲别濒补驳 is a region many tourists miss.

This despite hosting an award-winning World Heritage town, one of Norway's best-known ski resorts, and the country's capital during the Viking age. That's聽搁酶谤辞蝉, Oppdal and Trondheim, if you were wondering!

But the area has a growing reputation for niche tourism, not least in the field of salmon fishing. It's not hard to see why. When I travelled by train from Trondheim to 搁酶谤辞蝉 last year, I spotted countless fishermen up to waist-deep in the rivers that literally cover the region:

Imagine a beautiful summer's day, a gentle breeze and a peaceful river in 罢谤酶苍诲别濒补驳. Suddenly you catch sight of something shimmering, and you let the fly touch the surface of the water a couple of times before lowering it down perfectly a little way in front of the salmon. You feel a tug, “Yes!”, your face lights up, and the struggle begins (Trondelag.com)

I've never gone fishing. The closest I came was a dismal attempt at when I was young! Nevertheless, fishing is a popular activity back in my home country of England, and this partly explains its popularity in Norway today.

Back in the 19th Century, English lords travelled to the rivers of 罢谤酶苍诲别濒补驳, bringing with them the fly-fishing techniques of their homeland. It caught on, and soon wealthy people from across the world were drawn to Norway by tales of massive hauls of fresh salmon.

This history is captured today in the , near Grong in Nord-罢谤酶苍诲别濒补驳. It's a popular stop for many heading north on the E6. The museum is only open from June to August, but as I was in the area I managed to get a sneak peak 馃槈

The centre hosts a small aquarium and museum, along with a restaurant, serving salmon of course! The museum documents the development of fishing in the region with an impressive collection of memorabilia. There's also information about the hydropower stations which dot the region's rivers, providing much of Nord-罢谤酶苍诲别濒补驳's energy requirements.

Even if you have little interest in fishing it's worth a stop here for the spectacular scenery. It's situated above the Fiskumfoss waterfall, where one million litres of water falls every second! You can also see one of Europe's longest salmon ladders.

If you're driving north this summer (perhaps to 罢谤辞尘蝉酶 or Nordkapp for the midnight sun), consider the Namsen Salmon Aquarium for a great short stop.