Marmorslottet

The marble castle is a stretch of the Glomaga river where the water, carrying grit from the Svartisen glacier upstream, has cut into a band of white and grey marble and polished it into flowing forms: rounded basins, narrow slots, smooth walls and potholes, all in pale stone that looks worked rather than natural. The colour bands in the marble curve with the shapes, which is what gives the place its name. A path of a few minutes from the parking leads down to the river, and visitors walk along and across the rock when the water is low. Flow depends on the glacier and the weather: after heavy melt or rain the channels fill and the formations disappear under fast water.

What you actually see

• The polished marble - white and grey stone worn into flowing shapes.
• The potholes and basins - rounded hollows cut by grit and water.
• The colour banding - marble layers curving with the carved forms.
• The river channels - narrow slots the water runs through.

When to go

June to September, with late summer usually giving lower water and more exposed rock; after heavy rain or during peak glacial melt the formations are submerged. Sunshine shows the marble best.

Honest expectations

Wet marble is extremely slippery and people are injured here every year, so footwear and caution matter. The river rises quickly and can trap people on the rock. Facilities are a paid car park and little else.

Nearby

Gronligrotta and the Setergrotta caves are close; Svartisen and Mo i Rana lie either side.