What it's like to hike the Arctic's most closely monitored border

A series of scenic paths trace the Norwegian-Russian border. But as you trek through the tundra and forests, you may notice watchtowers and cameras hanging in trees.

I'm standing at a hillside clearing in the tundra along the Russian-Norwegian border, watching the Pasvik River ripple and writhe below. Maybe it's the rustle of birch leaves overhead or the buzzing sound of mosquitoes circling all around me, but I have an unshakeable feeling that I'm being watched.

Then again, those hairs on the back of my neck could be triggered by the nearby military watchtower, and the fact that this public hiking trail is under constant surveillance.

Located in the far reaches of north-eastern Norway on a jagged fjord close to where Finland, Russia and Norway meet, the small town of Kirkenes is best known among travellers as the final turnaround port for a number of small Arctic cruise lines. But increasingly, local operators are leaning into another opportunity: leading cruisers on wind-whipped treks along Nato's northernmost land border to the unfenced-but-heavily-monitored 198km-long line separating Norway and Russia. 

Here, surrounded by taiga forest, travellers can explore a network of public trails where cameras hang in the trees, watchtowers dot the horizon and military patrols ensure visitors are abiding by the periodic pillars (yellow for Norway, red for Russia) marking the international boundary between the two nations.

Drawn by the prospect of exploring the Arctic's most closely watched frontiers, I've set out on a three-hour trek through a birch forest strewn with boggy puddles. The trail runs parallel to the Pasvik River for roughly 1km before it reaches the "border corridor": an 8m-wide (26ft) strip of cleared forest that's a veritable no-man's land where travellers can't go. From there, the trek culminates in a scramble up Russehøgda, a hillside overlooking the Storskog border crossing that is the only legal land border between the countries.

But as we enter the forest, my guide, Henrik Hoffmann, switches off his mobile to avoid connecting to Russian data networks. He instinctively taps a satellite phone in his pocket, and I'm reminded that this is no ordinary walk in the woods.

The lure of Russia's land border

Hoffmann has been leading these border-trek trips since 2025 but relocated to Kirkenes in 2021, just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year later. Since then, he says that both Russia and Norway have increased security along their respective borders here. Now, seemingly minor offences, like throwing stones towards Russia, risk heavy fines and wandering beyond the marked international boundaries has resulted in detainments.

Still, he says that after travelling along Norway's coastline, many passengers who arrive in Kirkenes on Hurtigruten and Havila cruises are eager to escape the confines of ships and shuttle buses and get an up-close look at where these two nations meet. 

"Many older travellers are particularly interested because they remember the Cold War........

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