Besseggen
Coolest in Norway
It's no coincidence that ridge hiking along Besseggen in Jotunheimen National Park is one of the most popular mountain excursions in Norway. A spectacular passage with free view of the lakes and glacier-stacked mountain giants. Ridge hiking does not require any special equipment, but still gives you the sensational sense of freedom that characterises a truly memorable mountain excursion.
The adventure starts with a boat ride across the Gjende Lake to Memurubu Turisthytte. From there, there is a sharp climb to 400 metres before the trail flattens out to a rock field before climbing another 100 metres in altitude past a little mountain lake and dropping the same altitude to a rugged edge that presents the green-glinting Gjende in the south and the deep-blue Bessvatnet to the north. The same magnificent views then follow you up the extremely narrow and steep Besseggen. Now, things are really exposed – practically climbing – with the sides of the mountain free-falling down to the lakes on either side.
The ridge becomes so narrow in places that some teamwork is required when you pass by hikers coming from the other direction. This drama lasts an entire kilometre at an altitude of 350 metres before the peak of Veslfjellet drops down toward Gjendesheim, where the boat ride that started the adventure set out. A seven-hundred metre descent over just two kilometres with tired legs for a well-deserved beer at Gjendesheim DNT cabin.
Besseggen houkuttelee noin 35 000 vaeltajaa vuodessa. Reitin suosiota selitetään osittain sillä, että se on kuvattu kansallisrunoilija Henrik Ibsenin "Peer Gynt" -näytelmässä. Hieman kokemattomampien vaeltajien on helpompi kulkea kuvattuun suuntaan, koska silloin seurataan Besseggeniä ylöspäin. Koko retki kestää 7–9 tuntia. Fiksua on myös yöpyä Memurubu Fjellstue -mökeissä ja olla jo ylhäällä tunturilla, kun laiva vasta ankkuroituu aamulla. Retkenjohtaja voidaan varata Gjendebåtenen tai Memurubu Turisthytten kautta.
Seuraa E6-tietä Sjoaan. Jatka 257-tietä Randsverkiin (31 km). Aja sen jälkeen 51-tietä risteykseen asti (15 km) ja Gjendesheimiin (2 km).
No 33 RIDGE HIKING / BESSEGGEN
GOOD TO KNOW
- Activity: Ridge hiking
- Location: Besseggen, Norway
- Season: June-September
- Degree of difficulty: Everyone is welcome.
- Other facts: Sognefjellsvegen, which passes sights such as Jotunheimen National Park, has been added to the prestigious list of National Tourist Routes in Norway because of the beautiful nature and the spectacular mountains along the route. In the national park, there are 24 peaks reaching over 2000 metres high. The highest mounting, which is also the highest in Scandinavia, is called Galdhøpiggen (2469 masl) and is a favourite of both grown-ups and children in the summer months. Sognefjellsvegen is also an important leg of the Tour de Jotunheimen bike race.
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