Itinerary

Day 1: Independent travel to the hotel in Lillehammer. Orientation and welcome dinner.

Day 2: Transfer to Finse arriving in the late afternoon.

Day 3: Hike from Finse to Geiterygghytta. Today we begin our 3 day hike through the narrow and wild valley of Aurlandsdal following the final miles of an ancient thoroughfare that connected western and eastern Norway.

Day 4: Our route begins with a climb up the slope of the Sundhellerskarvet, passing below its imposing peak. Scrambling over rocky outcroppings and wandering through birch groves, we’ll have views of the waterfall from the River Grona before arriving at Osterbo and our hut.

Day 5: We leave the hut following the river downstream. Views across to the opposite bank reveal plunging streams and towering cliffs. Further down the trail a short detour will bring us to Vetlahelvete (Little Hell Cave), a domed water-filled cave lit through a narrow opening at its top. As we descend to the river, huge rock walls will tower above us as the river rushes wildly below us.

Day 6:  Ferry from Aurland to Skjolden. Bus to Sognefjellshytta. We’ll have the morning free to relax or explore the village. Aurland is the site of Vangen Church, a medieval stone church built in 1202.

We will travel along the shores of the Lustrafjord on Highway 55, Norway’s highest mountain road, which twists its way up to a high mountain plateau offering stunning views of the Jotunheimen’s icy peaks to the east. We should arrive at Sognefjellshytta in the early evening.

Day 7: From Sognefjellshytta, we follow the valley of Helgedalen along the river up to the Skautehaugane. Crossing between the lakes of Skautevatnet and Illvatnet we will make our way to Keiserpasset. We’ll have fine views of the glacier Gjertvassbreen and the peaks of Styggedalstindane and Gjertvasstind as we descend through the lovely valley of Gjertvassdalen along its raging river.

Day 8: Hike to Olavsbu. Leaving Skogadalsboen, we’ll retrace our steps down through the birch woods. Following along the Storutla River, we will hike up the valley until our route diverges to east and we enter the valley of Raudalen. With the peak of Raudalstindane coming into view, we will follow a chain of small lakes until we reach the larger lake of Raudalsvatnet. After hiking along the shore, we continue up stream to Olavsbu where we will spend the night.

Day 9: Leaving Olavsbu we will continue to make our way through the quiet lake-laced valley of Raudalen, dominated to north by Raudalsegga and to the south by Sjogholstind. As we turn northeast and descend through the valley of Vesleadalen we’ll have fine views of Lake Gjende below us. Eighteen kilometers long, this glacial fed lake is wonderfully green in color.

Day 10: Gjendebu to Memurubu. This is one of the finest hikes in the Jotunheimen. Along with fine views of the lake, we should see many of the glaciers and peaks of the Jotunheimen. A 30 minute hike along the lakeshore brings us to the start of our ascent. This is a steep, rocky section of trail with “rope and fences at more exposed places”, but once the top of the climb is reached the views are expansive. To the east, we’ll see tomorrow’s route over the Besseggen Ridge. We pass several mountain lakes along the Lagtunga ridge, before descending to our lakeside hut.

Day 11: Hike to Gjendesheim. The last hike of our journey across the southern Jotunheimen is one of Norway’s most well known walks made famous with the help of Henrik Ibsen’s poem, Peer Gynt. In the poem, Peer Gynt rides wildly across the Besseggen Ridge on the back of a reindeer before tumbling into the lake. (Optional activity.)

The views on this route are “staggering” as it traverses 400 meters (1,320′) above Lake Gjende. There is a shorter route from Memurubu to Gjendesheim and a ferry as well.

Day 12: Transfer to Lillehammer. We will depart Gjendesheim in the morning by private bus to Oslo. We will arrive in Lillehammer early evening. Farewell dinner followed by a spelling bee of Norwegian place names.

Day 13: Depart Oslo. The tour will end with breakfast at the hotel.

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