Norway

Majestic mountains looming over tranquil fjords, dense pine forests reaching up to the sky and picturesque wooden huts complementing creation’s hues with their red-painted facades. In winter, the magical shifting colours of the aurora borealis – or northern lights – slide across the star-splashed skies; in summer, the haunting midnight sun lights the land 24 hours a day. With such a great abundance of raw, natural beauty right on their home turf, it’s really quite hard to imagine why those Norwegian icons, the Vikings, would ever have wanted to pack up, board their longboats and set sail for other shores.

Urbanites may restrict themselves to three of the country’s main cities – Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger – and find plenty of manmade attractions to amuse them, but even in Norway’s cities, nature impedes quite unashamedly on human achievement. The Bygdøy Peninsula of Oslo offers golden sand beaches that are something of a pilgrimage in summer; the medieval waterfront of Bergen is overshadowed by a mountain backdrop so revered that there are funicular and (for the brave) cable car rides to the summit. And Stavanger is the gateway to the Lysefjord, so named because the light (lyse) that shines over the serene waters is considered to be one of the most beautiful sights in the whole country.

If you have the time though, you should abandon city life and head north into Norway’s heartland to really appreciate its innate grandeur. It is here that you will witness the country’s two annual celestial phenomena, the aurora borealis and the midnight sun (best viewed from Tromsø or Nordkapp, near Honningsvåg). But while these sights are undoubtedly some of the most spectacular in the world, it is the magnificent fjords – carved by glaciers following the last Ice Age – which are the nation’s crowning glory.

About an hour away from Bergen is the Hardanger Plateau and Eidfjord, a meandering waterway that spreads out like old ladies’ fingers. Aside from its peaceful setting, it’s also an ideal base from which to explore the impressive 145-metre high Vøringfossen waterfall and the Hardangervidda National Park, where herds of wild reindeer lend the landscape an almost mythical air.

Not far from here is one of Norway’s most popular destinations, Flåm. A highlight of any trip here is a ride on the renowned Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana) – one of the world’s steepest and most technically ingenious railway lines. With some 20 kilometres of track, including 20 tunnels cutting through the steep mountain landscape, it is an exhilarating ride of switchbacks and sheer drops – although at times it seems that the greatest danger is from fellow passengers who rush from one side of the train to the other, in response to the driver’s commentary of the attractions en route.

WONDERFUL WATERWAYS

Flåm is also the starting point for exploring the Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest waterway. Being just over 200 kilometres in length, no holidaymaker is very likely to cover the entire fjord, but an hour or two spent on its deep, blue waters will offer a fine insight into Norway’s natural treasures. Sit back and enjoy waterfalls cascading from mountain tops, seals basking on the shoreline, mountain goats grazing on precarious rocks and impossibly picturesque villages of red wooden huts (hytte) that stand out so vividly against their green and blue backdrop. Even the skies seem to pay homage to this natural gem, clouds falling then rising to reveal yet another glorious view at every turn.

Further north still, the Nordfjord offers a natural canvas of even greater splendour. The port town of Olden is a tranquil village of wooden churches and houses but the highlight of the area is the Jostedal Glacier National Park and, specifically, the 1,200-metre high Briksdal Glacier, accessed via horse-drawn carriages over bridges that sit astride gushing glacial streams below. And at nearby Lovatnet Lake, a canoe ride on its famous green waters – caused by the natural debris of melted glacial water – is a totally relaxing way to feel at one with Norway’s dazzling environment.

More exquisite natural beauty lies northeast of Olden at the small Geirangerfjord. The most famous sight in this area is the Flydalsjuvet rock, which juts out perilously over the water. The view from the top is one of the finest in Norway, but standing on the precipice looking down over the fjord is not for the fainthearted. The rest of Geirangerfjord, however, can be best enjoyed from the water itself, providing the chance to take in numerous waterfalls that have earned the region UNESCO World Heritage status.

Trondheim is Norway’s most vibrant northern city with plenty of attractions in its own right but, for nature lovers, it’s also a convenient port from which to explore the Dovrefjell National Park. This relatively small area has been set aside to protect the habitat of the musk ox that roams the region and the sight of these long-haired beasts, oblivious to any onlookers, is a rare joy.

THE BIRDS AND THE BEASTS

Wildlife is also the undisputed highlight of the nearby Lofoten Islands, although here it’s mainly of an aquatic and avian nature. The whale-watching trips that take place in the region are both humane and poignant, giving visitors a rare chance to catch a glimpse of these vast water-borne mammals dipping and diving in the expanse of the icy Arctic Ocean. Bird watchers will gain a great deal from the Lofotens too, because living here there are puffins, guillemots and cormorants, all in abundance.

The most remote region of Norway is the Svalbard archipelago, at the heart of which lies the only inhabited island, Spitsbergen (meaning ‘jagged peaks’). Equidistant between the Norwegian mainland and the formidable North Pole, the attractions of this – the northernmost inhabited region of Europe – are of an entirely environmental fashion. Enormous polar bears roam through the land and great tusked walruses bask lazily on the icy shores, while huskies are employed on dog sledges to whisk delighted visitors across Svalbard’s crisp and dazzling white tundra landscape. During the summer months, the sun shines here for 24 hours a day and there will be no sunset for the better part of three months – a phenomenon that allows a stunning array of flowers to bloom in this otherwise cool and icy environment.

Svalbard may represent the extremes of this beautiful country but, from the age of the Viking all the way to the present day, Norway as a whole has remained virtually untouched by the hand of man. Thousands of years of geological activity, rather than destroying the region, have instead created the magnificence of the fjords, the mountains and the glaciers – and the diverse wildlife that inhabits them has equally managed to survive any threat of modern intervention. In Norway, no-one could disagree that it is nature alone that sets the rules – leaving us humans to simply stand back in awe and admire its work.