Mannen is a 400 metre mountain on Vestvågøya, right above Hauklandstranda. We walked it in September 2021, on a day for which nice weather was forecast. The path is short but steep, and at the top you look out over the sea, lots of mountains and several beaches.
We park at the car park by Hauklandstranda, below Mannen. In 2021 it was still free. Today the car park charges a fee. According to hauklandbeach.no a car costs 26 kroner per hour, paid straight after parking.
From the car park you can see the old cart road on the other side of the road. According to Visit Lofoten you follow it for about 500 metres until a clear path heads up the slope. On our track it is about 700 metres from the car park to this trailhead.
From the trailhead the path goes steeply uphill. At a brook the path turns left and follows the ridge to the summit. Straight ahead leads towards Uttakleiv, and another path goes to Himmeltinden, which starts from the same car park. Visit Lofoten expressly points out that you should keep left at the brook.
For us the ascent was steep, and in some places we had to scramble over large boulders. According to Visit Lofoten there are some exposed parts along the way. Anyone who does not feel comfortable there should, according to Visit Lofoten, rather turn back. When wet the path is slippery according to hauklandbeach.no. After only a few metres of ascent you see Hauklandstranda, where you started, down on your left.
We did not record our own walking time. The figures in the sources differ widely: Visit Lofoten gives two to three hours there and back, hauklandbeach.no and Nord-Norge one to one and a half hours.
At the top we are rewarded with a wonderful view. On one side lies the bay with turquoise water and a pale sandy beach, and from up high you see the sandbanks and tidal channels at Hauklandstranda and the cars on the car park below. On the other side staggered mountains stretch behind a green peninsula above the calm sea. We take lots of photos and have a picnic on the summit.
We go down the same way. For us the descent was somewhat easier than the ascent. Once at the bottom we also go to Hauklandstranda, which lies right next to the car park. We do not stay long, though: Suddenly it starts to rain, and we flee into the car.
