Geiranger

Introducing Geiranger

Scattered cliffside farms, most long abandoned, still cling along the towering walls of twisting, 20km-long emerald-green Geirangerfjord, a Unesco World Heritage site. Down its near-sheer cliffs waterfalls – the Seven Sisters, the Suitor, the Bridal Veil and more – sluice and tumble. The one-hour scenic ferry trip along its length between Geiranger and Hellesylt is as much minicruise as means of transport – take it even if you’ve no particular reason to get to the other end.

If you arrive from Hellesylt, Geiranger village, at the head of the fjord, comes as a shock to the system, despite its fabulous site, as you mingle with the hordes of visitors, brought in by bus and ship. Every year Geiranger wilts under the presence of over 600, 000 visitors and more than 150 cruise ships (three were moored offshore last time we visited, each polluting the pure air with dark fumes from its smokestack, while their bumboats belched diesel vapours at the jetty).

By contrast, if you drop from the north along the Rv63 from Åndalsnes and Valldal (called Ørnevegen, the Eagle’s Way), you’ll gasp as it twists down the almost sheer slope in 11 hairpin bends, each one giving a yet more impressive glimpse along the narrow fjord. And whichever way you’re coming or going, in the evening, once the last cruise ship and tour bus has pulled out, serenity returns to this tiny port.

The tourist office (70 26 30 99; www.geiranger.no; 9am-7pm mid-Jun–mid-Aug, 9am-6pm mid-May–mid-Jun & mid-Aug–mid-Sep) is beside the pier.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009