12/08/2020
The Staggering Beauty of the Norwegian Fjords.
Cutting in from the sea, through steep mountains rising up to 2000 meters high, creating lush, fertile soil along the shore, the Norwegian Fjords have always given people memories for life and temporary neck aches from gazing at the sights. For example, mountainside farms once accessible only by steep ladder trails, small villages, seals, schools of fish swimming in the waters, with eagles and other birds looking down from above.
To many foreigners, Norway is synonymous with fjords. Norway has the highest concentration of them in the world, ranging from the Oslo fjord in the southeast, all the way up to East Finnmark near the north-eastern Russian border. However, the most famous fjords in Norway are found in the western coastal and northern regions.
A fjord is a deep, narrow and elongated ocean inlet, cut into the landscape, with steep mountains on three sides. The fourth side, called the mouth of the fjord, is open towards the sea. During the ice age both the ice and the rivers carved deep valleys in the mountains. As the climate changed, most of the ice melted, and the valleys were gradually filled with salt water from the coast, thus creating the fjords. Not all of the ice melted though, leaving parts of the high mountain areas covered with ice, thus creating the glaciers.
As Norway’s weather can be misty and rainy, the best time to go on a Norwegian fjords cruise is in summer for blue skies and warmer weather. In summer, snow-covered peaks are a startling contrast to lush green forests, forming a backdrop as pretty as the picture-book seaside towns that dot the region. The bad news is that cruise fares tend to shoot up in summer and the shoulder seasons are cheaper and there are fewer people on the ships. Most cruises operate between May and September (June to August is peak time) and while the shoulder seasons may be cheaper, there might be limited tours, buses and ferries in spring and fall.
Main Ports on a Norway Fjord Cruise
Every port on a cruise in Norway is a visual feast, with glaciers, fjords, waterfalls, mountains, peaceful farms and tundra plains to see. The towns and cities are straight out of a storybook, with markets, churches, museums and colorful timber buildings (many of these house local craft and jeweler shops). Most cruise ships offer a choice of cruise ship excursions in every port but in some places, like Bergen and Tromso, where many of the sights are within walking distance, it’s more enjoyable to wander around on your own. In small ports, such as Geiranger, Olden and Honningsvag, joining a half-day or full-day excursion is essential as the most stunning scenery is a fair distance away and you will need to get those scenic attractions by bus or ferry.
Bergen - Bergen’s historic Bryggen precinct is picture-book pretty at street level but the view from the top of Mount Floyen is jaw-dropping, especially on a blue-sky day when the sun is shining on Bergen’s sapphire-colored harbor. From the top of the Floyen Mountain, the Seven Mountains are a calming backdrop to the city’s red rooftops far below. It’s worth taking the funicular up the mountain for the view and a bird’s-eye panorama of narrow alleyways lined with crooked timber buildings in Bryggen, which is Bergen’s historic wharf area and a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site. Bryggen was part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire between the 14th and 16th centuries. Bergen’s waterfront has a medieval feel brightened up by colorful tri-level wooden houses, which were homes of the country’s first German merchants.
Stavanger - Stavanger is the gateway for cruises to Lysefjord, which is another scenic fjord known for the dramatic cliffs of Pulpit Rock. Stavanger is a peaceful town with whitewashed wooden houses, a medieval cathedral and a historic harbor. Wandering around Old Stavanger, you will be charmed by a warren of cobblestone streets and old-fashioned lamp posts. Old Stavanger is a living museum with Europe’s largest collection of 18th-century wooden buildings which house workshops, craft shops and private homes with neat flower gardens and cats curled up on doormats. Two museums worth visiting are the Norwegian Canning Museum and the Norwegian Petroleum Museum.
Tromso - Tromso is the gateway to the Arctic and many Arctic expeditions start here, so don’t be surprised to find a cute main street packed with cafes and souvenir shops. The small colorful town is easily walk-able during a shore excursion. Among the things to do in Tromso are visiting the Polar Museum and the Arctic Cathedral.
The main fjords of Norway:
1. The beautiful Geirangerfjord is one of Norway’s most visited tourist sites. In 2005 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, jointly with the Naeroyfjord (the narrow fjord). The Geirangerfjord is a 15 kilometre long branch of the Sunnylvsfjord, which is a branch of the Storfjord (Great Fjord), cutting in from the Atlantic coast just south of the coastal town of Alesund. The tiny village of Geiranger is located at the end of the fjord. The Geirangerfjord is often considered Norway’s jewel in the crown. Surrounded by majestic mountain peaks, steep cliffs and cascading waterfalls, the fjord extends more than 100 kilometers inland from Alesund on the west coast.
2. The Sognefjord is Norway’s longest fjord. With several beautiful fjord branches, like the narrow Naeroyfjord, the fjord stretches more than 200 km inland from the western coast north of Bergen. It reaches a maximum depth of 1308 m below sea level, with the greatest depths in the inland parts of the fjord. Near its mouth, the bottom rises abruptly to about 100 m below sea level. The cliffs surrounding the fjord rise almost sheer from the water to heights of 1000 m and more. In the mountains of the northern parts of the fjord you find the Jostedal glacier.
3. The Naeroyfjord is the narrower branch; a spectacular fjord with steep cliffs, accessible by boat only as there are no roads along the fjord. This dramatic, narrow fjord is one of the inner branches of the main Sognefjord, Norway’s longest fjord. This 18 kilometre long fjord is only 500 meters wide in some parts, with steep mountain sides and unbelievable, tiny farms clinging to the mountain sides. Since 2005, the Naeroyfjord has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are scheduled fjord cruises on this amazing fjord, with daily departures throughout the year, connecting with the public transportation system between the 2 largest cities in Norway; Oslo and Bergen.
4. The Hardangerfjord is one of the main fjords and the second longest of the Norwegian fjords. It cuts inland from the coast just south of Bergen. The outer parts of the Hardangerfjord consist of a beautiful archipelago and the amazing Sunnhordland area. The Hardangerfjord has several scenic branches, like the 38 km long Sorfjord, the tiny Ulvikfjord and the Eidfjord. The Hardangerfjord offers beautifully located villages, like Rosendal in the outer fjord area, Norheimsund & Utne with historic wooden hotels, Lofthus with the wonderful and classic Hotel Ullensvang, scenic Ulvik and tiny Eidfjord, the link to the Hardangervidda National Park. The Folgefonna glacier is located at the Folgefonna peninsula of the Hardangerfjord, visible from the northern shore of the fjord. During the Scandinavian ice age, the ice carved out the Hardangerfjord from the massive Hardangervidda mountain plateau, but it also created the breathtaking Mabodal canyon, cutting its way from the mountain plateau down to sea level of the Hardangerfjord, with the cascading Voringsfossen waterfall at the upper edge, offering a spectacular free fall of about 180 m.
