The Vega Archipelago

<p>The Vega Archipelago (Vegaøyan), a scatter of low islands, skerries and reefs off the Helgeland coast just south of the Arctic Circle, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognising a thousand-year tradition of eider-down harvesting. Generations of fishing-farming families built small stone 'eider houses' to shelter nesting eider ducks, gathering their prized down by hand — a rare example of sustainable human life in a stark seascape. The islands, dominated by the peak of Vega itself, are a quiet, bird-rich landscape reached by ferry.</p>