Local wildlife and historical events have been depicted in three large tableaux made by the artist Ivo Caprino and these are placed in three niches along the tunnel.

For the Sámi population the North Cape has always been a sacred place, in particular "Hornet" a phallic rock formation on the eastern slopes of the plateau. In 1553 the sea captain Richard Chancellor sailed past in his ship "Edward Bonaventure" whilst searching for the Northeast Passage. He called the place the North Cape and thereby gave it a place in geographical history as it was established as the northernmost place in Europe and became a landmark in the line with Cape Horn in South America and Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

The North Cape became a destination for travellers of many kinds. During the winter of 1664 the Italian priest Francesco Negri managed with great difficulty to reach the top and he is regarded as the first tourist to the North Cape. In 1795 a prince travelling incognito reached the plateau and he later became king Louis Philippe I of France. The joint Swedish and Norwegian king Oscar II reached the top in 1873 and he unveiled a memorial stone in memory of his visit. Yet another king was to follow in 1907, and he was king Chulalonkorn of Siam (now Thailand) who carved his name in the rock at the highest point of the plateau. A road wasn't built until the 1950, so these famous men and almost everybody else would have had to climb the steep path from Hornvika up to the plateau.