South Spitsbergen National Park

South Spitsbergen National Park covers around thirteen thousand square kilometres of the island's southern third, one of the largest protected areas in Svalbard, running from Hornsund down to Sørkapp and taking in glaciers, tundra plain, bird cliffs and the mountain country between. The tundra at Sørkapp is unusually rich by Svalbard standards and holds one of the archipelago's better concentrations of Svalbard reindeer. The park was established in 1973, in the same round of designations that protected most of the archipelago's coastline, and it has been extended since.

What you actually see

• The scale - around thirteen thousand square kilometres, Svalbard's largest park.
• The Sørkapp tundra - unusually rich vegetation for this latitude.
• The Svalbard reindeer - the endemic subspecies concentrated on the southern plains.
• The bird cliffs - the seabird colonies along the western coast.

When to go

June to September is the practical window. Sea ice affects the southern coast into early summer. Winter access is for expeditions only.

Honest expectations

There is no infrastructure of any kind; this is expedition country. Polar bear protection is mandatory outside settlements. Weather and ice govern all access.

Nearby

Hornsund is within the park, and Longyearbyen is far north.