Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5 The Best Hikes
•
Besseggen Ridge:
In the Juten-
heimen Nasjonal Park, Norway's
greatest park, you'll find a land-
scape of glaciers, mountains,
lakes, and waterfalls, crowned by
two towering peaks, Glittertind at
2,452m (8,044 ft.) and Gald-
høpiggen at 2,469m (8,100 ft.),
the highest peak in northern
Europe. This park also boasts the
country's most justifiably popular
hike across Besseggen Ridge, tow-
ering over one of the country's
most beautiful lakes, Gjende,
which earned the praise of Henrik
Ibsen, among others. The trail
along the ridge links the remote
mountain lodges of Memurubo
and Gjendesheim. See p. 204.
•
Preikestolen:
Outside the city of
Stavanger, on the western coast of
Norway, you can take one of the
most memorable hikes in this part
of the world, through scenic fjord
country with mountain landscapes
as a backdrop. The ultimate goal is
“Pulpit Rock” (its English name)
with a vertical drop of 609m
(2,000 ft.) over the stunningly
blue Lysefjord. You can drive to a
rock car park to begin a hike of
4km (2
1
⁄
2
miles). The hike has a
height difference of 350m (1,148
ft.); it begins steeply, climbing past
rocky, even boggy sections, before
the final ascent. The cliffs are
exposed and extremely windy, but
all this is part of the Norwegian
experience. Despite an alarming
crack in the rock, making it look as
if you're about to plunge to your
death in the fjord below, geologists
claim it will take thousands of
years for the rock to break apart.
Once on the rock, looking down
at the 42km (26-mile) fjord, you'll
perhaps understand why poets
have praised its “ethereal light.”
See p. 253.
•
Lofoten Fishing Villages:
The
best hikes in Norway don't always
have to be up steep mountains. In
the remote Lofotens in the north
of Norway, while based on the
glaciated island of
Moskenesøy,
we like to hike along a seascape of
little fishing villages stacked up
one after the other like a string of
pearls. The mountain peak of
Hermannsdalstind, rising to
1,029m (3,375 ft.), offers a scenic
backdrop. Begin in the north at
the little fishing village of Ham-
nøy, then hike southward to other
quaint settlements at Sakrisøy,
Reine, Moskenes, Sørvägen, and
the curiously named Å. To extend
the hike at Sørvägen for another 2
hours, you can hike inland along a
signposted rambler's trail to get
acquainted with the interior of a
Lofoten island. See “The Lofoten
Islands: The Soul of Norway” in
chapter 14.
6 The Best Downhill Skiing
•
Lillehammer:
It may not be
Switzerland, but Norway has its
own alpine skiing, a lot of it cen-
tered at Lillehammer. The skiing
at Lillehammer, Norway's oldest
ski resort, is so superb that the
1994 Olympic committee chose
the resort as the site of its winter
games.
Hafjell Alpine Center
lies
9.3km (15 miles) north of the
center, and was the main venue
for the Olympic alpine competi-
tions, offering seven lifts and
20km (12 miles) of alpine slopes.
The longest slope at Hafjell is
7km (4
1
⁄
3
miles) long, and there's a
wide range of alpine slopes for dif-
ferent levels of skiing proficiency.
The Lillehammer mountains lie
850m (2,788 ft.) above sea level.
