The western fjords

Of all the myriad excursions organized by fjordland tour operators, the most trumpeted is the whistle-stop Norway in a Nutshell, which can be booked at any tourist office in the region or online at wnorwaynutshell.com. There are several possible itineraries to choose from, but the classic round trip from Bergen takes eight and a half hours, and is an exhausting but exhilarating romp that gives you a taste of the fjords in one day. The tour begins with a train ride to Voss and Myrdal, where you change for the dramatic Flåmsbana branch line down to Flåm. Here, a two-hour cruise heads along the Aurlandsfjord and then the Nærøyfjord to Gudvangen, where you get a bus back to Voss, and the train again to Bergen. You can pick up the tour (and shave an hour and a half off) in Voss for an affordable 705kr: the full excursion from Bergen costs 1045kr.

The lonely railway junction of Myrdal, just forty minutes by train from Voss, is the start of one of Europe’s most celebrated branch rail lines, the Flåmsbana, a 20km, 900m plummet down the Flåmsdal valley to Flåm – a fifty-minute train ride that should not be missed if at all possible; it is part of the “Norway in a Nutshell” route. The track, which took four years to lay in the 1920s, spirals down the mountainside, passing through hand-dug tunnels and, at one point, actually travelling through a hairpin tunnel to drop nearly 300m. The gradient of the line is one of the steepest anywhere in the world, and as the train squeals its way down the mountain, past cascading waterfalls, it’s reassuring to know that it has five separate sets of brakes, each capable of bringing it to a stop. The service runs all year round, a local lifeline during the deep winter months. There are ten departures daily from mid-June to late September, between four and eight the rest of the year; Myrdal–Flåm fares are 260kr one-way, 360kr return.

The athletic occasionally undertake the five-hour walk from the railway junction at Myrdal down the old road into the valley, instead of taking the train, but much the better option is to disembark about halfway down and walk in from there. Berekvam station, at an altitude of 345m, is the best place to alight, leaving an enthralling two- to three-hour hike through changing mountain scenery down to Flåm. Cycling down the valley road is also perfectly feasible, though it’s much too steep to be relaxing.

Flåm is the starting (or ending) point for one of the most stupendous ferry trips in the fjords, the two-hour cruise up the Aurlandsfjord and down its narrow offshoot, the Nærøyfjord (May–Sept 3–4 daily; 2hr 10min; 275kr one-way, 380kr return;
wfjord1.no) to Gudvangen. The Nærøyfjord is the narrowest fjord in Europe, its high and broody cliffs keeping out the sun throughout the winter, and its stern beauty makes for a magnificent excursion. This forms part of the “Norway in a Nutshell” itinerary.

Cycling from Finse is made possible by the Rallarvegen (“The Navvy Road”; wrallarvegen.com), which was originally built to allow men and materials to be brought up to the railway during its construction. Now surfaced with gravel and sometimes asphalt, the Rallarvegen begins in Haugastøl beside Highway 7, runs west to Finse and then continues to Myrdal, from where you can cycle or take the Flåmsbana down to Flåm. It’s 27km by bicycle from Haugastøl to Finse, 37km from Finse to Myrdal and another 16km to Flåm. The Finse-to-Flåm section, which passes through fine upland scenery before descending the Flåmsdal, is the most popular part of the Rallarvegen. Most cyclists travel east to west as Finse is a good deal higher than Myrdal, and the whole journey from Finse to Flåm takes around nine hours; the return trip is usually made by train, with NSB railways transporting bikes for 175kr. Locals reckon that the best time to cycle the Rallarvegen is usually from mid-July to late September. However, snow is not cleared from the route and its highest section – between Finse and Myrdal – can be blocked by snow until very late in summer, so check conditions locally before you set out. Mountain-bike rental is available from the Finse 1222 Hotel, but advance reservations are required.

The steep and craggy cliffs on the pocket-sized island of Runde, some 70km west along the coast by road and ferry from Ålesund, are the summer haunt of several hundred thousand sea birds. Common species include gannet, kittiwake, fulmar, razorbill and guillemot, but the most numerous of all is the puffin, whose breeding holes honeycomb the island’s higher ground. Most species, including the puffin, congregate here between mid-April and July, though some – like the grey heron and the velvet scoter – are all-year residents. A network of hiking trails provides access to a number of birdwatching vantage points, though these invariably involve a fair climb up from the foreshore. One of the more popular hikes is the stiff forty-minute hoof up to the sea cliffs on the island’s north shore from the car park at the end of the road: the island is connected to the mainland by bridge and this, its one and only road, slips along both the south and east shores. For more detailed advice about hiking routes on Runde, consult
wrunde.no. The easiest way to see Runde’s bird cliffs is on one of the Wildlife Sea Safaris (late June to mid-Aug; 2 daily; 2hr; 800kr) operated from Ålesund by 62° Nord (t70 11 44 30, w62.no). You can also drive there – allow two hours or so: Runde is itself connected to the mainland by bridge, but the journey still involves the car ferry ride from Sulesund to Hareid (every 30min; 25min; passengers 33kr, car & driver 90kr; wnorled.no).