Walking Tours in northern-europe
Norway - Fjordland
Discover the natural wonders of the Fjord, fell and moorlands of western Norway the walking way! This is a multifaceted trip with a heady mixture of highland walks, with different levels of difficulty, through the manifestations of the Ice Ages. You will visit beautiful Sognefjord right up to the edges of the retreated glaciers that once carved out this rich landscape. Then there are the lusher, pastoral settings of the Flam and Aurland valley: forests, dreamy waterfalls and traditional churches. You leave the area on the steepest standard gauge railway in the world with some of the most spectacular scenery that you could wish for.
From Oslo -the Norwegian Capital you take the train up to Geilo at the foot of the Hardangervidda Plateau. From here a choice of routes either take you high into the Hallingskarvet Mountains for a mountain hike boasting rarefied panoramas in reasonable conditions or a more gentle stroll around the local lakes. The following morning you take the train to the little mountain hamlet of Finse. With the peaks, glaciers and icy moors around you can see why Captain Scott decided to do his Antarctic training here! From your hotel you can climb high to the spectacular viewpoint of Sankt Pal or you can wander onto the mountain sides under the Hardanger Glacier. From the accommodation (for a local payment) you can in reasonable weather, alternatively decide to don crampons and head up onto the blue ice of the glacier on an excursion led by a local guide. Continuing by train to Myrdal, we then walk down towards Sognefjord via the green Flam valley accompanied by the sounds of the waters cascading down dozens of waterfalls from the valleysides to the sea. After a night here a ferry is taken to Aurland, and you could continue to do a half day mini Norwegian cruise! Time in Aurland and Flam is spent again by the fantastic Sognesfjord which carves its way an impressive 204 km from the coast – the longest fjord in the world - and at 1300 m depth, it is also claimed to be the deepest and narrowest. Depending upon the weather there are a mixture of walks you can do from here, one of the best is to take a local bus to Ovstebo and to follow the valley tracks through the Mountain Ash, valley cascades and farms to Vassbygdi, returning in the evening to Aurland by local bus.
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