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Introducing Jostedalsbreen
For years mighty Jostedalsbreen, many-tongued and mainland Europe’s largest icecap, crept counter-current, still slowly advancing while most glaciers elsewhere in the world were retreating as a result, most scientists agree, of global warming. Now Jostedalsbreen herself has succumbed and, since 2006, has been withdrawing. Briksdalsbreen, which attracts day visitors by the coachload, is cracking and fissuring and, as always, you shouldn’t venture onto the ice anywhere without a qualified guide.
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With an area of 487 sq km and in places 600m thick, Jostedalsbreen rules over the highlands of Sogn og Fjordane county. The main icecap and several outliers are protected as the Jostedalsbreen National Park.
The best hiking map for the region is Statens Kartverk’s Jostedalsbreen Turkart at 1:100, 000. The Jostedalsbreen Glacier Walks brochure, available at tourist offices and many other venues, gives a comprehensive list of glacier walks, their levels and guiding companies.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
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