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Kjøkøya
I was a bit tired from recent travels, so for the next trip I decided to go somewhere closer. I found a book recently about Norwegian national parks. I read from it that the nearest park is Hvaler, near Fredrikstad, less than an hour drive from Oslo. Hvaler is an archipelago of islands with unique flora and fauna, and the park itself is mostly focused on the underwater area, but to a lesser extent extends along the coastline. On the mentioned islands, however, there are paths along which you can organize a quite pleasure hike. And that was my goal. However, I did not reach the archipelago. Looking for a…
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Lærdalsøyri
The Lærdal Valley is situated where Norway’s longest fjord, the Sognefjord, reaches its farthest eastern end. It connects to three more branches there: the Lustrafjorden, which goes north, the Årdalsfjorden in the east, and the Lærdalsfjorden, the shortest of all three, which goes south-east. At the end of the latter is the beginning of the Lærdal valley, which stretches all the way to the vicinity of Maristova and the King’s Road (Kongevegen) through the Filefjell Mountains. The valley is often linked to the historic route connecting western Norway to the rest of the country, especially the capital. In the past, when the network of roads and communication connections was not…
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Himingen, 1066m asl
The end of May is the right time for mountain hiking. Winter is over, the snow may still be lying around here and there, but it doesn’t really bother anyone. It’s warm and nothing but put on shoes and wander outdoor. That’s what we all imagine, right? Well, the reality this year turned out to be different. I was going to climb Slettefjell in the Lifjell Mountains, but when I arrived at the parking lot at Gavlesjå, I had to revise my plans. While the parking lot was snowless, everything beyond it, including the paths leading from it, was lost under a thick layer of this white contraption. Slettefjell, visible…
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Urnes stavkirke
Among all 29 stave churches preserved to our times, the church in Urnes (Ornes) is the oldest and has the most valuable, unique monuments.It was inscribed on the UNESCO cultural heritage list in 1979.Located on a hill above Lustrafjord (the farthest branch of the Sognefjord), the church looks really impressive against the landscape of western Norway. The church in Urnes, or rather in Ornes (Norwegian O is pronounced like U, hence someone decided to change the official name of the temple to make life easier for visitors) was built approximately in 1130. Like other structures of this type, it was built on the basis of vertical, woodenpillars, supported on stones…
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Feigefossen
Feigefossen, the waterfall I saw the day before while climbing Nipa, is located on the eastern side of the Lustrafjord, just opposite the village of Gaupne.The still visible snow cover on the tops of the surrounding mountains and warm days meant that the waterfall was fed by huge amounts of water from the spring thaw.And it made an amazing impression even from a distance of 10 km, because that was more or less the distance when I was on Nipa. From Skjolden, I headed south on Route 5637 to Ornes.The waterfall lies somewhere in the middle of its length, but the views are stunning along the entire route.The car park…
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Sengjaberget
My shoes after the last adventure on Nipa needed time to recover (and dry properly).Me too.So the next day I went on a round trip by car.The road led me to Skjolden, to the farthest point of the Sognefjord (actually its final branch, the Lustrafjord).Call it a small town, would be an exaggeration but it was not a village either.So something in between.There was a hotel, a church, tourist information, a shop and a cafe.Probably everything that makes such a place attractive in the summer for tourists coming to the fjords.The area by the water was pleasantly arranged, there were benches and a volleyball court, a sculpture not fully defined…
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Nipa
Nipa is the second peak I was going to visit that day.So when I came down from Molden, I got in the car and went to the place where the trail has its beginning.The settlement of Joranger is picturesquely situated in a valley between the slopes of the mountains and the outlet of this valley is directed towards the Gaupenfjorden.The whole place is located somewhere at a height of 50 meters, so the views from the settlement were very impressive. I parked in a small parking lot by the white church.It was the middle of the day, the sun was shining, Norwegian flags were flying over the surrounding houses due…
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Molden 1118m asl
Molden is a mountain 1118m high.and it is located in Luster Kommune in Vestlandet.The mountain rises above the Lustrafjord, which is the farthest branch of Norway’s longest fjord, the Sognefjorden.I took advantage of 2 days off on May 17 and 18 to wander in the mountains a bit in those areas and Molden supposed to be my first dish. Before I got there, I was wondering how much snow I would find there and whether it would be possible to hike in the mountains at all.Already during the ferry crossing from Fukkenes to Mannheller I saw that the surrounding peaks are still bathed in white.It didn’t look very optimistic.Despite everything,…
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Vinbekkhorn 779m asl
This time I wanted to avoid a longer car ride and drove around Kongsberg and Notodden. Somewhere between these two cities there is a quite large parking lot, a toilet and, most importantly, couple of hiking trails leading to the surrounding hills. The mountains are not high here and the routes are not too demanding. But in the first week of May, there was still a lot of snow, which made the hike much more difficult. One, that the path lying underneath it becomes invisible, and two, that when walking on such, not often deep snow, the legs sometimes sink to the knees, sometimes up to the waist. Pulling your…
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Leknesnepa 610m asl
After finishing the hike to Nordfjellet, I took the ferry back to Skånevik and, leaving the car in a small parking lot just off the islet of Peparen in the center, immediately set off on the next trail. I learned about its existence in the morning from the information board near Skånevik Fjordhotel. The route initially coincides with the Postvegen trail, which I once walked, although from the other side, from the town of Etne. My goal was the peak of Leknesnepa, 610 m above sea level.and according to the board I could get there in 5 km hike.I passed the buildings and farms of Skånevik and made my way…
