When it comes to hiking, the Norwegians have a head start.
If you want to see the land of jewel-colored fjords, glaciers, and pop-up mountains, you need to hit the trails that wriggle through its remotest reaches. If Norway's weather gods can throw at you, you should bring a compass and a map.
It will be a rare beauty. Whether it is climbing up sheer rock walls as dawn lights up the fjords, surmounting Alpine peaks on a hut-to-hut trek in a national park, or testing every ounce of strength and stamina in your body on a long-distance hike, there is something for everyone. Nine hikes are good, but they are not the end of the story.
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A round trip of 5 miles.
The 604m-high ( 1981ft) finger of granite rock, hammered into shape by the last ice age, is at the top of Norway's charts. No matter what the weather is like, this amazing fist of rock is breathtakingly beautiful.
It isn't as hard to hike up as some of the country's other rock stars, but neither is it a walk in the park. There are no fences or barriers to stop you from blowing off the cliffs on the boulder-strewn trail. The trail begins at a mountain lodge.
If you want to avoid the crowds after the perfect look-at-me-dangling-on, Preikestolen is a great hike. Staying the night at Preikestolen Base Camp will give you a head start.
To teeter too close to the edge is dangerous. You need a guide for the hike in the winter.
It took 11 km to travel 5 hours.
We understand that you have made it all the way to the glacier-encrusted, mountain-rippled feast of a national park that is Jotunheimen. You will feel like a god when you look out from the top of Jotunheimen's sea of dark, snow-dusted peaks and jewel-colored lakes.
The easiest way to get to the top is to take a 30 minute drive from the village of Lom to the Juvasshytta cabin. If you stay the night, you will be able to sidestep the crowds. You are plunged into wilderness on a trail that requires a good level of fitness, a sure-footed step, and a rope traverse of the Stygreen glacier, all in a single day. You will need a guide to cross the glacier.
"Stygg" in this context refers to local dialect meaning "dangerous". You must cross the frozen white expanse of the glacier before you can reach the summit. The hike can be done from late May to mid- September.
There is a 28 km round trip.
You might think of a rock with a name like troll's tongue as a bit of a beast, but it is also a beautiful rock. In the country's southwest, this vertiginous spur of rock rises 1180m above sea level, projecting into the void above the lake.
Getting to the top of the mountain is like standing at the edge of a diving board, terrifying and heart-skippingly exciting. Whatever you do don't jump. The Tyssestrengene, one of the world's tallest waterfalls, has a freefall of 300m and a total height of 2119 feet.
This hike requires a solid level of fitness and the right gear, as well as an emergency bivouac, in case of bad weather. There are no barriers or fences to stop you from falling off the cliffs. Check the forecasts before you head out.
You must start before 8am to finish the hike before nightfall. It is possible from June to September. You need to hire a guide that knows the snow to offer sunrise and sunset options. Northeast of Odda is the location of the trail.
It's easy to travel 10 km round trip.
On the island of Vry, you will find a short but sweet hike. From the summit of Hen, or Hheia, you can ask yourself what happened when this island was created.
The view from here will leave you speechless, taking in the island's shaggy green cliffs that curve like a dragon's back above the rows of powder-white sand. It is a view to commit to memory and one that is easy to earn on this hike. You can see the Norwegian mainland and the second largest glacier in the distance on cloudy days.
The only way to get to Vry is by ferry. The trail starts in Srland and goes on for a while. The kids can manage this one, but they need to take care of the cliffs at the top. Keep an eye out for restored eagle houses as you climb. Locals used to hide in these houses to catch eagles.
There is a round trip of 11 km.
Trust us, that isn't what it looks like. In a country full of mad rocks, 1084m (3556ft) Kjeragbolten is all-out crazy.
If you want to take on a challenge and view that is among Norway's most beautiful, sign up here. The hike can be difficult, with 800m of elevation gain and three ridges to negotiate, and some areas where you have to slip and slide with the assistance of cables. The scariest part comes when you have to walk across a ledge to get to the boulder itself. There are many reasons why hardcore climbers and base jumpers get their kicks here.
It isn't easy to get here on your own, so you might want to hire a guide. The trail goes from the ygardsstlen car park to the top of the hill. The staff at the car park can give you an idea of what's going on. The trail can get very slippery due to rain and snow. The trail is normally hikeable from mid- May to September.
50 km round trip, five days.
The best way to get to the granddaddy of Norwegian national parks is by cabin-to-cabin. One of the last refuges of wild reindeer can be found in the 372-sq-mile national park.
The trek takes you from hut to hut for a panoramic view of the mountains. You will be hiking across barren, lichen-covered plateaux, stopping every so often to gawp at waterfalls, lakes, fast-rushing rivers and peaks over 6000 feet high.
Hiking here feels like a proper adventure because of the small crowd. The bus goes from Otta to Spranget.
The distance is 800 km and it takes 45 to 50 days.
The "once in a lifetime" tag is deserved by theNordkalottruta, which begins in Kautokeino in Northern Norway and ends in lakeside Sulitjelma on theSwedish border.
The trail goes across international borders 15 times and then goes through indigenous Smi land to reach beyond Norway and into a large part of Sweden and the Finns. There are many moments of beauty, from the desolate plateaux where reindeer roam, to the snowcapped peaks and lakes of loneliness.
This trail requires a lot of careful planning. You will need a tent for the remotest sections, as well as sturdy, weather-proof gear, if you want to make it to the huts in time for the summer season. Unless otherwise stated, water is plentiful and campfires are allowed.
For those magic moments when you feel like the only soul on earth under a wide, wide terrain, it's all worth it.
Hiking 8.7 km round trip; kayaking 3.4 km round trip.
Do you want to go on a polar explorer's expedition? Spitsbergen'sarctic challenge is for you. The 928m peak of Hiortfjellet is the target of this unforgettable day hike.
The summit gives out-of-this-world views of Spitsbergen's polar wilderness, but you have to cross Adventfjord by kayak before you can see it. You should keep an eye out for wildlife as you go over boulders and up steep, rocky slopes, especially the Svalbard reindeer and the arctic foxes, which change their fur from brown in the summer to white in the winter.
If you encounter a polar bear, you need a rifle to get away from it, so get a guide. They provide all the kit, navigation, and dealing with the harsh climate will be easier with this.
It's possible from June to September. You will need a decent level of fitness and stamina, as well as thermal layers and proper wind and waterproof clothing, though not technically demanding. It is at its best when the sun is setting.
It took 10 km to demand 8 hours.
If you want to know the country's best hikes, ask a Norwegian. This full day trek up to a knife-edge ridge is amazing. You can see the mountains from the summit, which are covered in snow.
The highest vertical mountain wall in Europe is visible from the valley floor and you can see it from the front row. The far-off glint of the Atlantic Ocean can be seen from the south if you look south. I think it's pretty special.
You have to get that view. The walk is a challenge to say the least. It's doable from June to October, but it can be tiring when you hit the slippery slopes of scree and exposed in places. You will feel it in your bones. But who doesn't care? This is a hike that will last a long time.
The article was last updated about 6 hours ago.
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