Western Norway Explorer

Day 1

We meet at the Lobby of the hotel after breakfast and after introductions and a warm welcome, we begin our transfer to the Hardangerfjord region of Western Norway. This will involve a very scenic drive, a ferry crossing and an immediate introduction to Norway’s picturescue landscape in which we will be spending the next 10 days together! We enjoy a lunch in the Hardangerfjord region before embarking on our first relatively short hike which will be a warm up for the days to come. Late afternoon we continue our journey and arrive in our place of accommodation for the next 2 nights. We will arrive at our accommodation early evening where we check in to our apartments before we enjoy a shared dinner getting to know each other better. This is very helpful for a 10 day Western Norway Hiking Tour.

Day 2

Today we aim to be early up so we can engage on our Hike soon after breakfast. Trolltunga ( Troll’s tongue ) is yet another classic Hike so typical for Norway – the starting point being up in the mountains above Tyssedal. We hike up and manage most of our climb during the first part of the Western Norway Hiking Tour, as we get up the terrain is easy to follow – after about 4 hours of Hiking we arrive at our destination, the famous Trolltunga view point which offers great view over the surrounding landscape and melt water lake far below. We’ll enjoy a well deserved Gourmet Picnic lunch at this point, celebrating our hiking achievements so far and taking in the scenery. This is a very popular hike and trails can be crowded at times unlike most of the other hikes we will be enjoying on our Western Norway Hiking Tour.

Day 3

Waking up not quite as early as the previous day is nice – today we will be embarking on a hike to the Buer Glacier which is a West facing Glacier arm coming off the larger Folgefonna Glacier high above Odda. After breakfast we transfer up to the starting point for our Hike which is well below the foot of the Glacier. We hike uphill through forest for about an hour before we enjoy great views of the Glacier above us. Mid afternoon we begin our descend back down and plan to arrive at our accommodation in Voss. On the way we pass the recently completed Hardangerbridge, a marvel of a bridge that allows for crossings of the Hardangerfjord without taking a ferry. After arriving at Voss where we check into our accommodation and Group Dinner is scheduled soon after the end of our 3rd day of this Western Norway Hiking Tour.

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 4

Mid Morning after breakfast we transfer from Voss up to Gudvangen at the famous Nærøyfjord in the UNESCO World Heritage area. This is our home base and we will be welcomed by the rest of our staff in a beautiful setting. We will unload all our luggage here and after that go through a briefing that will explain in detail how to prepare for the Sea Kayaking expedition of this Norway Hiking Tour. All personal paddle gear is provided, including paddle wear, dry bags and safe dry storage boxes for your camera. We spend the late morning packing our kayaks and get on the water before lunch time. Gliding out through the Nærøyfjord is magic, sitting in a kayak makes you realize the pure scale of the fjords and given our past few days experiences you’ll begin to truly understand how the creation of Fjords has taken place over million of years.

We spend the day paddling through the Nærøyfjord and stop at waterfalls, farms and other points of interest before reaching our campsite area late afternoon.

Setting up camp is easy, we pitch up our tents – a room with a view! – before we engage in preparing for dinner around the campfire.

Evening is spend relaxing and enjoying a good glass of wine with new friends in yet another wonderful location. All camp site equipment on this fantastic Western Norway Hiking Tour is provided by us.

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 5

After campsite breakfast we break down camp before getting on the water again for a short paddle across to the starting point of our hike today. We’ll be aiming for the top of Breiskreinosi some 1.189 meters above Sea Level, offering unique views over the Nærøyfjord – this is a hike off the beaten track and you’ll get to enjoy some of the highlands above the fjords, picking natural berries as we hike, drinking pure water from rivers and streams – some of the best Norway has to offer. Today’s hike is easy to customize so if you are interested in a shorter hike and some relaxing time, this is a good day to choose for a resting day. Options for fishing in mountain lakes. We aim to reach to the top of the mountain overlooking the fjord sometime early afternoon with those wanting to go all the way up, – after spending some time here we’ll then return back down to the Summer farming area of Hjølmo where we will be spending the night in a Mountain hut. Dinner is enjoyed together in a rustic setting up in the valley some 500 meters above Sea level. This truly takes this Western Norway Hiking Tour to new heights!

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 6

After breakfast we take our hike back down to the village of Dyrdal at the Nærøyfjord and get back on the water in our kayaks. Today’s kayaking will take us out through the Nærøyfjord and into the larger Aurlandsfjord. On the way we will pass one of the bigger waterfalls entering the fjord and pay a visit by kayak. Once we clear the headland of Beitelen we enter the Aurlandsfjord – here we will be looking for our small pull out location situated below the mountain farm Stigen – a place you would believe no one would live! – We will take the most basic essentials with us from the kayaks and then begin our steep but relatively short hike up to the farm. At Stigen we will sleep in rustic rooms and enjoy a truly impressive meal produced by mainly original and local products by our host couple for the night who lives on the farm during summer months only.

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 7

We’ll enjoy the relaxing atmosphere at Stigen in the morning and for eager hikers we have an optional morning hike that one of our guides will lead out to the viewpoint of Beitelen. Here you will be able to see the meeting point of fjords from a high point and enjoy views in several directions. We won’t spent long here and will return back to Stigen latest at 11am where we will link up with the whole group before we hike down the steep path leading back to our kayaks.Around lunch time we get back on the water and paddle North, we are heading up towards the larger main Sognefjord and will pull out for shorter stops along the way as needed. Late afternoon we will enter the main Sognefjord and clear the headland that hides away the fjord village of Fresvik. Arriving here after a nice day’s paddling is a blessing and we’ll spend the evening pampering ourselves with good company, great food and drinks to accompany all of that.This is probably one of the best options you will be getting for swimming in the Norwegian fjords – the view surrounding Fresvik is amazing and the water is easily accessible.

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 8

We wake up at the edge of the Sognefjord and look ahead towards todays mission; – Cross the main Sognefjord in our kayaks and pull out on the Northern shores mid afternoon. During normal weather conditions this is an easy crossing but some chop can be expected on days with wind. We are sheltered by land most of the way and stop for lunch as needed, either on the water on or a shore offering a suitable pull out location.Early afternoon we reach the end point location for our Sea Kayaking expedition – we’ll pull out our kayaks and celebrate our successful crossing. Here we also get reunited with our luggage stored behind and after getting changed over wget in the van and begin our Journey up North into the highest mountain region of Western Norway, Jotunheimen, where our home for the night awaits.

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 9

At this point of our Tour we go to the summit of Norway! Today we hope for relatively clear weather as we attempt our summit attempt to Galdhøpiggen 2.472 M.ASL – it’s a relatively easy hike compared to our previous hikes on the tour – on the way we will be crossing a smaller Glacier so for safety reasons we will rope up using our harnesses as we cross this part of the mountain. Once on the other side of the glacier area we continue our push for the summit, arriving here you can enjoy fantastic views in all directions on a clear day.We’ll spend a bit of time resting and taking in the breathtaking scenery before beginning our descend back down. As we reach our vehicle we pack up our equipment and head back down the valley – we aim to make it a few hours back down the road towards the fjords further South before we find our accommodation for the night along the Lustrafjord. Here at fjordlevel the landscape is greener and the climate is warmer – a big contrast to our Hiking today and a nice way to spend the evening. We have late dinner, allowing for individual walks or relaxing before or after dinner.

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 10

On our last day we enjoy a sleep-in and have late breakfast, – we then begin our Journey back South towards Voss which is our end destination. But the area still have some unrevealed hidden gems we want to visit – we will be making our first visit to one of the relatively few Stave churches still found in Western Norway, – either at Urnes or Kaupanger, – before we cross the Sognefjord by ferry. We’ll pass through the villages of Lærdal and Aurland, seperated by one of the worlds longest tunnels – 24.5 kilometers, which we will be passing through. Time depending we will have lunch one of these places before we arrive in Flåm by mid afternoon. Here we have time for taking a short walk around – late afternoon we embark on the famous Flåmsbana, not to be missed out, taking us up the fantastic masterpiece of a railway that leads up to Myrdal. We change trains in Myrdal and then travel down to Voss by train – here we get picked up by our van again and go to our place of accommodation. Same evening we meet for our farewell dinner, celebrating a great trip, new friends and unforgettable memories from our trip through what we consider are some of the most impressive parts of Norway. We hope you will have enjoyed our Western Norway Hiking Tour as our guides do – and welcome you back anytime for more, even though we know that the experience will be hard to match!

Highlights from past Western Norway Hiking Tours

Day 11

Breakfast is included – Wake up in Voss independently – on request we are able to assist you with onward travel plans or you could consider staying in the area for another day or two to enjoy some of the exciting activities Voss has to offer.