Our Playgrounds – Jotunheimen National Park

Norway has to be a contender for the most beautiful country in Europe. It has stunning fjordlands, huge glaciers, long summer days, and winter nights lit by the Aurora Borealis. We’ve visited many parts of the country, from the Lyngen peninsula in the Arctic north, to the Sunnmore Alps between the fjords of the west. All of these are fantastic, but one place inspired us so much that we’re launching our first Scandinavian trip there.

The very word Jotunheimen is suffused with legend. Meaning the home of the Jotun (giants), the name will be familiar to fans of Norse mythology. Many stories begin with Thor, Loki and friends heading into Jotunheimen in search of adventure. Although not necessarily lying in the same place as in the legends, it is easy to imagine giants roaming this larger-than-life landscape.

The Jotunheimen National Park was established by royal decree in 1980. Norwegian romantic nationalist, Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, had already named the region in 1862 taking inspiration from the old stories. Before this the mountain range did not have a specific name, although Baltazar Mathias Keilhaus, the founder of Norwegian geology, proposed the name Jotunfjeldene (mountains of the giants) in 1920. Keilhaus is also credited with “discovering” the range, although humans have hunted there for millennia.

Mountains

The highest mountain in Norway, Galdhøppigen, stands in the northern part of the national park. The second highest mountain, Glittertinden, lies just opposite across the Visdalen valley. Glittertinden was actually considered the highest peak in the country until a couple of decades ago when its melting summit glacier reduced its height.

In fact, the highest 29 mountains in Norway are all in the Jotunheimen range, set among over 250 peaks above 2500 metres. These high peaks give the region it’s nickname as the roof of Northern Europe.

Geography of Jotunheimen National Park

Coming from Oslo, your first experience of Jotunheimen will often be the Valdresflyr road (Route 51). Leaving Beitostolen ski resort, just to the south-east, the road winds north past the ends of Bygdin and Gjende lakes. The former has a historic hotel on its shore, while the latter hosts the well-known lodges of Gjendesheim and Bessheim. Both lakes have ferry boat services in summer, and marked ski routes when frozen, to reach more remote lodges.

On the far east of the range, to the right of the road, the gradients are gentler and the hills rolling. This quickly changes as you leave the road to the left. The terrain to the west gets steeper, higher and more jagged as you head into the heart of the range. At the opposite edge of the range the Hurungane mountains mark the western boundary. After these, the ground drops 1000 metres over a few kilometres to reach the Sognefjord – longest of the Norwegian fjords.

To the north, the Sognefjellet road connects the historic town of Lom to the village of Skjolden and the Sognefjord. From the central part of this road, minor lanes lead into the national park to reach Spiterstulen and Leirvassbu lodges. At the western end, the Turtagro hotel gives good access to the Hurungane mountains. From Turtagro, the small Tindevegen road (literally, The Peaks Road) skirts the western edge of the range down to Øvre Årdal. To the south, Jotunheimen gradually descends into a landscape of lakes and pleasant valleys.

Parts of the Valdresflyr, Sognefjellet, and Tindevegen roads are all closed in winter, typically from November until early-May, but you can still reach the edge of Jotunheimen National Park at several points.

The national park area sits in the transition zone between maritime and continental climates. The western, seaward side is warmer but has more snowfall. As a consequence it is home to more glaciers. The eastern side, being further inland, sees colder temperatures and more permafrost.

Hiking in Jotunheimen National Park

To Norwegians, Jotunheimen is one of the best known and most visited mountain areas in the country. However, it is nowhere near as busy as popular parts of the Alps, or the English Lake District, for example. There is more of a feeling of space here, with no towns inside the national park area. The terrain is varied so you can choose to cover ground on long, gentle, but remote feeling lakeside and valley walks. Or you can tackle big ascents and steep technical terrain if that’s more your bag.

Like much of Norway, Jotunheimen is served by a wonderful network of huts or lodges (hytte in Norwegian), including the highest trekking hut in the country. At 2068m, the Fannaråkhytta stands almost on the summit of Fannaråken peak. Altogether, there are seven staffed DNT huts and numerous privately run lodges as well as trekking hotels around the edges of the national park. There are also unmanned DNT huts, classed as self-service or unserviced.

The huts tend to be conveniently spaced a days’ walk from each other, making it easy to plan exciting multi-day treks. However, you do need to be able to keep up a good pace are there are rarely intermediate stops to shorten the days.

The ferry boat services add an extra dimension to hiking here. You can use them to access otherwise remote lodges, or to make an interesting point-to-point day hike. The most famous day hike in Jotunheimen, and perhaps in Norway, involves taking the boat from Gjendesheim to Memurubu. This is the starting point for the stunning Besseggen ridge traverse which brings you back to the start point.

Skiing

While there are no ski lifts in the Jotunheimen National Park, the area is very popular for both cross country skiing and ski touring. Long marked ski routes run along the frozen lakes and over the easier passes. For those seeking multi-day adventures, the recently established Joutunheimen Haute Route brings Alpine-style hut-to-hut ski touring to Norway’s highest peaks.

For single-day ski tours, there is a huge variety from safe easy classics to epic climbs on spectacular peaks. Hurrungane to the west has a high concentration of steep ski tours, while the northern part offers the highest mountains. For an easier introduction, the far eastern area has some safer, low angled terrain. The altitude and inland location mean that Jotunheimen keeps its snow cover longer than the coastal mountains a few hours drive away. You can ski here well into May and sometimes later.

Just outside the national park boundary, Beitostolen offers lift accessed skiing around a modern resort town.

Norwegian Culture

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its significance in the country, many of Norway’s most famous names have spent time in Jotunheimen and used it as inspiration. Henrik Ibsen based parts of Peer Gynt around Lake Gjende and on the Besseggen ridge. Edvard Grieg composed his well known Peer Gynt Suites to accompany the play. Grieg also visited the area and stayed at Bessheim Lodge. In 1886 he climbed Skinneggen with the Danish painter and poet Holger Drachmann.

Another vistor to Bessheim was the painter, Edvard Munch, who hiked from here to Vågåmo along what is now the Munch Trail. The 53km trail skirts the eastern edge of Jotunheim, passing though scenic valleys, woodland, and tiny villages.

The region has been a hunting ground since prehistoric times, and many archeological remains have been found here. These include a 3000 year old leather shoe and a 6000 year old arrowhead found in melted glacial ice. Around the edges of the park, historic towns like Lom are home to monuments like the 12th century Lom Stavkyrkje (stave church) below.

Tour of Jotunheim

If you’re interested in exploring Jotunheimen in summer, why not join our five-day tour of Jotunheimen. The hut-to-hut trekking circuit of this beautiful region includes six nights in Norwegian trekking lodges. See full details on our Tour of Jotunheimen page.