Gudvangen, Nærøyfjord, Aurlandsfjord, and Flåm

One of two fjords in Norway listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Nærøyfjord is the narrowest and one of the more dramatic. I was particularly interested in how the Norwegian Fjords would compare with the ones I know well in New Zealand and ones I travelled through in Chile. They’re all similar to a degree, though the fauna differs, and there is far more infrastructure (roads, settlements, tourist attractions) in the Norwegian fjords.

I stayed near the small village of Gudvangen, in a steep valley with dramatic waterfalls seemingly everywhere.

There are some lovely old buildings in the village.

Along with the much better than expected Viking Village, which was well worth a visit to better understand how Vikings lived between the 8th and 11th centuries, and indulge in some archery and axe throwing!

The buildings look pretty realistic both from the outside, and inside with plenty of furs and shields. There were many people in Viking costumes, looking in place here, less so when spotted later in the day outside the neighbouring supermarket eating ice creams.

Gudvangen is at the end of Nærøyfjord, and offers good views of the fjord.

There is a cool bridge across the mouth of the river.

But the best views are from the water. I took the Lady Elizabeth, which was a lovely boat almost devoid of passengers compared with the better advertised funky The Fjords boat behind us.

First thing in the morning the fjord was still with reflections on the water and atmospheric mist in the air.

Other boats provided a sense of scale.

There were so many magical waterfalls along the way.

I love the idea of kayaking out to a remote spot and setting up camp, a popular pastime it appears. There were a few villages along the way.

The cruise goes up the Nærøyfjord, turns right and heads down the wider but still scenic Aurlandsfjord to Flåm.

There were a surprising number of settlements along the fjords. Before the relatively recent arrivals of roads, the fjords were the main highways, used to moved between settlements.

Flåm was a bit of a shock after the relative clam of Gudvangen, with a huge cruise ship moored and thousands of people milling around taking advantage of the many tourist attractions on offer, including the famous Flåm Railway (which I gave a miss after researching it), biking, shopping, eating, visiting scenic lookouts, and having a sauna on the waterfront. I thought that Milford Sound was a little touristic but New Zealand has nothing on Norway. It was all a bit much really, not a wilderness experience, more of a theme park.

I walked out to Brekkefossen waterfall, following the masses along the roads and up a steep set of rock steps to see in the company of fifty other people at the lookout a waterfall little different to the ones seen on the cruise.