Jotunheimen

Group gathering at tent camping in the center of Oslo. You can arrive at any time. Tickets to Oslo can be bought for about 200-250 dollars (AirBaltic, KLM, etc.).

We take a bus across Norway towards Jotunheimen National Park. We land in the village of Gjendesheim, on the shores of the huge Lake Gjendes. It is much higher and colder here than in Oslo, so we quickly change clothes and go to the ferry. A small boat will take us to the other end of the lake to the Memurubu shelter. There we set up tents and continue to get acquainted with the Norwegian climate.

We pack our backpacks and leave the Memurubu shelter. We face a long climb along a narrow ridge separating the already familiar Lake Gjende and the higher-altitude Lake Bessvatnet. This is one of the most beautiful and popular trekking routes in Norway, also known as Besseggen. Having passed the entire ridge to the end, we go around Lake Bessvatnet, cross the river flowing from it and through a simple pass we head to Lake Russvatnet. Not reaching it for about a kilometer, we camp for the night near a couple of smaller lakes. There is a lot of water in Norway - streams, waterfalls and lakes will accompany us throughout the hike.

We go down to Lake Russvatnet and walk along its shore for quite a long time. One of the stops will be on a real sandy beach. If the temperature of the water doesn’t bother you, you can even take a dip. We leave the shore and begin to gradually gain altitude. Along the way, we cross (jumping over rocks) two small rivers. Having climbed (300 m up) to a small plateau, we have lunch with a gorgeous view of the lake. After lunch, we gain another 300 meters of altitude and find ourselves at the pass (about 1760 m) among lifeless stones and snow. But on the other side of the pass you can see the vast Veodalen valley with a wide river, powerful glaciers and herds of reindeer. Although, deer are free animals, so it’s not a fact that they will press us right here. We go down to the river and cross it on a rickety suspension bridge. We set up tents a little short of reaching the Glitterheim shelter (height 1390 m), located at the foot of one of the highest peaks in Norway - Mount Glittertind 2465 m. If you wish, you can run to the shelter for a paid hot shower (5 crowns for 3 minutes).

Behind the Glitterheim shelter we cross the marshy part of the valley and move upstream of the Veo River. An hour and a half after the start, we begin to climb to the right and by noon we reach the “lake” pass 1650 m near Mount Ryggjehoe (2142 m). The pass depression in the mountain range is indeed 90% occupied by a chain of 5-7 cold lakes. What’s more, in Norway you can find a lake with a waterfall even at the top - water simply oozes from everywhere.

For the next few hours we do not follow the usual path, but jump from stone to stone. We descend from the pass into the “hanging” valley of the Skauta River. We cross water streams several times, get pretty exhausted, and finally have lunch. Then we go to the edge of the plateau (altitude about 1420 m) and begin the descent into the Visdalen canyon. Lo and behold, a small fragment of asphalt awaits us below, which will lead to the Spiterstulen shelter (height 1080m). We move to the left bank of the Visa River and set up tents in a paid campsite (80 CZK per person) with a kitchen, toilet and almost hot shower. And most importantly, the shelter has a special drying room where you can quickly dry boots, washed clothes, damp tents and sleeping bags.

The whole day will take a radial trek (without backpacks) to the highest peak in Norway - Galhöpiggen (2469 m). Tents with belongings remain at the campsite. We take with us only a lunch snack, thermoses with tea, jackets and snow gaiters. The journey to the top will take approximately 5 hours. We have to gain and lose about 1400 meters of altitude. It's quite a slog and the view from the top is by no means guaranteed. Therefore, if you wish, you can skip this radial (on an individual basis) and just stay and relax at the campsite.

Finally a more or less simple day. For the first three hours, the trail is almost perfect - we go up the Visdalen valley, with a very smooth climb. Having climbed 300 meters, we have lunch and prepare for a series of crossings. We have to cross the shallow but rather wide Visa River over rocks. Reindeer will laugh if they see how awkward people are overcoming such simple obstacles. But we will have no time to argue with them - we need to watch our step. By the way, trekking poles are very helpful at such crossings.

A relatively simple, but very long and therefore tiring day. A good dirt road leads from the Leirvassbu shelter to the Gravdalen valley. You won’t believe it, but there are also continuous lakes and beautiful mountains around the perimeter. About 7 kilometers after the start we will pass a mysterious dam that holds back a lake with icebergs (Norwegian hydroelectric power plants are a special topic).

We walk along the side of the Utla River canyon. This is a real valley of waterfalls. Here you will see so much falling water that for the next couple of years you will smile sourly when you hear about a waterfall below 100 meters. But that will come later, but for now we have to gain 500 meters of altitude to finally begin the inexorable descent to the sea. Yes, yes, the trek through Norway is already nearing completion, but this does not mean at all that it will be easy. We descend into the Vettismorki valley - a magical place where unusual Norwegian cottages with grass on the roof nestle on a marshy plateau.

With great difficulty we find a dry island in Vettimorki and have lunch. Then we approach the edge of the plateau and look at the Vettifossen waterfall - the height of the free fall of water in it is as much as 275 meters. Through a dense forest (finally normal trees!) we descend to a small private shelter, where you can inexpensively spend the night in a real wigwam (80 CZK/person).

After breakfast, we run into a small radial to the foot of the already familiar Vettifossen waterfall - we need to look at it from a new perspective. Then we pack our backpacks and walk along a good asphalt road to the town of Ovre Ardal. Along the way we see a hundred more waterfalls and waterfalls. At the Ovre Ardal bus station we have a quick lunch and soon leave by bus (2 hours, 90 CZK) to the town of Songdal. There we put up tents on the shore of the fjord in a very decent campsite (90 CZK/person) with a comfortable kitchen, a hot shower (10 CZK/5 min) and other joys of civilization.

We wake up at 5 am and quickly pack our backpacks without breakfast. At 6 am we need to leave the campsite in order to be on time at the pier by 7:00, where the boat leaves for Bergen (500 CZK). For the next 5 hours we sail on a speedboat along the huge Sognefjord - we finally have breakfast, get enough sleep, and admire the fjord. At exactly noon we arrive in Bergen, check into a hostel in the city center, and walk along the embankment. The trek through Norway is completed, you can go home (there is an international airport in Bergen), but it is much better to stay for a day in this beautiful city. Or you can continue the hiking program and go with us on the trek to the Troll Tongue.