Norway a country with vast natural beauty; is made up of mostly loose rocky mountains and swampy arctic bogland all covered in arctic mountain birch. Norway has been inhabited for over 10 000 years. Therefore, everywhere that it was possible to build a structure there is a structure! And, now Norwegian Wilderness is elusive at best.
Norway’s Western Fjords are world-famous; draw several hundreds of thousand’s visitors every year. From Lysefjord in the south to Storfjord midway up Norway’s western coastline the western fjords are carved out of rugged coastal mountains creating a spectacular canyon like landscape, which have been inhabited since Vikings ruled the waterways. And now with over a thousand years of settlement along the fjords every spot that could feasibly house a farm or settlement has been developed, therefore finding a wilderness experience in the fjords is difficult.
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Today the best wilderness-esque fjord system worth paddling is the Fjords of Storfjord. Strofjord with all its arms that lead to Geirangerfjord, Hjørundfjord, and Tafjord is the only wilderness-esque fjord system in western Norway that lets you wild camp on remote-like campsites and be the sole watercraft gliding down empty waterways.
The Fjords of Storfjord
Norway’s Grand Fjord – Storfjord
Norway’s Great Fjord (Storfjord), the surging north Atlantic Ocean meets the majestic Sunnmøre Alps where a giant ravine like fjord carries the surging ocean inland banked by steep sheer walls that give way to towering peaks. Here, the over-whelming majesty of your surroundings hits you with a view like a painted canvas of deep blue water, lush green forests giving way to chiselled rocky peaks, and an endless blue sky with wisps of white.
Hjørundfjord (Heart of the Sunnmøre Apls)
A broad cleft in the Western Sunnmøre Alps reveals a deep canyon like fjord; the sheer walls dropping down from their jagged peaks meet the surging waters of Hjørundfjord. Here, rugged mountains raising 1500m straight up from the waters edge give the fjord a sliver like dimension; deep down in the depths of Hjørundfjord a small tranquil waterway deviates down an Eastern valley, Norang Valley, creating the Norangsfjord and at the very end is the tiny hamlet of Øye. This tiny rural community is surrounded by majestic mountain peaks that stretch back to the banks of Sunnylvs fjord.
Sunnylvsfjord (The Amaranthine Fjord)
Is a North-South running gorge like fjord that connects Storfjord with Geiranger Fjord. Heading east down Storfjord, a navigational light on the north-west corner signals the entrance to Sunnylvsfjord. Turing right around the light and facing due south this amaranthine fjord stretches some 25-30 km south to the tiny hamlet of Hellesylt. Steep mountain walls rising some 1500 m on both sides leaves you with the impression that you are entering a deep canyon.
Geirangerfjord (A UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Sheer, steep, grey granite and gneiss walls, leafy birch verdant forests, misty thundering waterfalls, and petite mountain ledge farms perched high up on the steep canyon like walls. As the glacier ice receded inland over 10 000 years ago it carved out a spectacular ‘S’ shaped fjord 1500 meters below towering snow-capped mountains flush with mountain lakes, streams and bubbling brooks, creating magnificent waterfalls, and providing life to the crude mountain farms.
Geirangerfjord is Norway’s most famous and iconic fjord. I have paddled the length of Geiranger fjord over 3 500 times; know this fjord far better than anyone else. Geirangerfjord, is very popular during the summer, and therefore can be quite a busy waterway; it does not compare to the busier fjords further south. Over the past 25 years I have seen and experienced everything the fjord has to offer, from hurricane force winds, whales encounters, rock and mud slides, avalanches, boat collisions, soaring sea eagles and playful porpoises. The fjord is our backyard; you will receive the best advise on how and when to paddle the fjord so that you can experience it at it’s absolute best.
Tafjord
This short and stubby waterway, just 12 km long, gives the feeling of paddling a wide lazy river at the bottom of a deep ravine. Sheer granite walls rise to 1500 m on both sides of the fjord giving way to snow-covered mountain peaks that lead to the Reinheimen National Park. Tafjord is also famous for Norway’s most devastating landslide, with two million cubic meters of rock falling directly into the fjord from 700 m up on the mountain Langhamaren creating a tsunami in the fjord, with a wave surge of 62 m as it washed in over the settlements located in the fjord.
If you can’t make it up to the Storfjord then maybe a short-day paddle on one of the other fjord systems, otherwise don’t waste your time and money trying to do a good multi-day sea kayak as none of the other western fjord systems offer anything close to the wilderness-esque experience to that of Storfjord.
Here’s a quick look at the other western fjord systems and an outline of why Storfjord is your best bet for a multi-day sea kayak trip.
Lysefjord is a very short fjord with profuse boat traffic and very limited wild campsites which make it not great for a multi-day self-guided sea kayak trip.
Hardangerfjord and all its arms is overdeveloped with villages, hamlets, and farms, as well as the fjord is expansive and does not give you a true fjord feeling while paddling. Wild camping is very limited and not very private as roads rune down all sides of the fjord.
Sognefjord, Norway’s longest with all its arms including Aurlandsfjord & Nærøyfjord is the heaviest trafficked fjord in Norway. This extremely busy waterway bustles with countless ferry crossings, industrial boat traffic, cruise liners, tourist boats and countless pleasure craft. Also, down all sides of the fjord are roads connecting the never-ending string of villages, hamlets, and towns taking away every and all feeling of wilderness.
Nordfjord – The least scenic and least inviting of all Norway’s Western Fjords. This fjord system is a huge snooze from a paddler’s perspective, with little to see and very limited camping options. It is certainly not ideal for sea kayak touring.
