Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Jotunheimen (Norway). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Galdhøpiggen, Memurubu, and Glittertind. Also, be sure to include Snøholstinden in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Jotunheimen (Oppland).
Table of Contents
Galdhøpiggen
Scandinavia's highest mountain peak. Galdhøpiggen is the highest mountain in Norway, Scandinavia and Northern Europe, at 2,469 m above sea level. It is in the municipality of Lom in Innlandet county and in the Jotunheimen mountain area.[1]
Memurubu
Lodging in Norway. Memurubu is a tourist hut in Norway, at the end or start of the famous Besseggen hiking trail. Memurubu is originally an old mountain pasture dating back to 1872, but has had tourists just as long. Cows are still grazing around the tourist hut, which lies at the mouth of the river Muru in the valley Memurudalen. After a fire destroyed the original lodge in 1998 it was rebuilt. The new facility has a few family rooms with shower and bathrooms although most of the 150 bunks are in double or quadruple occupancy rooms.
Memurubu was the fourth cabin in Norway set up by Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT) but is now privately owned, though members of DNT obtain cheaper prices.
The lodge produces its own green power from its hydroelectric generator.
Hiking along the Besseggen trail, one ends at Gjendesheim at the eastern end of the lake Gjende. Hiking westwards along Gjende over Bukkelægret, one ends at Gjendebu at the western end of Gjende. From Memurubu, the mountain Surtningssue is also accessible through the valley Memurudalen[2]
Glittertind
Mountain in Norway. Glittertind is the second highest mountain in Norway, at 2,465 m above sea level, including the glacier at its peak. It is in the municipality of Lom, in the Jotunheimen mountain area.
Glittertind had earlier been a challenger for the title as the highest mountain in Norway, as measurements showed Glittertind including the glacier was slightly higher than Galdhøpiggen (2,469 m above sea level with no glacier at the summit). In a 1917 official map, the mountain was indicated to be 2481 m. So it was a matter of defining a glacier as a part of a mountain or not. The glacier has, however, shrunk in recent years, and the dispute has been settled in Galdhøpiggen's favour. The summit of Glittertind was reached for the first time in 1841 by Harald Nicolai Storm Wergeland and Hans Sletten.
Glittertind is easily accessible from Spiterstulen lodge in the west, by a climb of 1300 m, and from Glitterheim lodge in the east, by a climb of 1000 m. The hike from Glitterheim is the easier, but Glitterheim is inside the National Park and can therefore only be reached by foot. The summit hike is a very popular one, only surpassed in seasonal numbers by Galdhøpiggen, its western neighbor.
The route across the glacier that crowns the summit is completely without crevasses, but on a hot summer day it might be a wet hike across the melting snow which covers the ice. Visitors might even experience that the meltwater blows up across the summit, leaving hikers soaked. The view is magnificent. East and southeast of Glittertind there are hardly any high peaks, and hence most of the northern and eastern parts of the province of Oppland can be seen. All famous photos of Glittertind are taken on the eastern flank slightly below the top.
There used to be a cabin at the summit, but because of the impossibility of mooring it sufficiently, it was taken by a storm and landed on the Grjotbreen glacier, under the steep north wall of the summit.[3]
Snøholstinden
Mountain in Norway. Snøholstinden is a mountain in the county of Innlandet, in southern Norway.[4]
Gjende
Lake in Norway. Gjende is a lake in the Jotunheimen mountains in Norway's Jotunheimen National Park. The proglacial lake shows typical characteristics of glacial formation, being long and narrow, with steep walls—18 km in length and only 1.5 km in width at the broadest point. Gjende has a characteristic light-green color resulting from the large quantity of rock flour which is discharged into the Gjende by the Muru river. The river Sjoa provides the outlet from Gjende at Gjendesheim, and flows eastward into the Gudbrandsdalslågen river.
Gjende lies in the middle of Jotunheimen National Park and both to the north and south of the lake lie peaks greater than 2,000 m. There are numerous staffed tourist cabins maintained by the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT); in the west end lies Gjendebu, on the north side lies Memurubu and on the east end lies Gjendesheim. In the summer boats provide transport between these locations.[5]
Fannaråki
Mountain in Norway. Fannaråki is a mountain in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The 2,068-metre tall mountain is located in the Jotunheimen National Park, just south of the lake Prestesteinsvatnet and the Sognefjellsvegen road. This mountain is located about 6 kilometres north of the Skagastølstindane mountains.[6]
Glitterheim
Glitterheim is a mountain cabin in the valley of Veodalen in Jotunheimen, Norway. It is owned by the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association. The cabin lies 1,384 meters above sea level, at the foot of the mountain Glittertind. It was designed by architect Hjalmar Welhaven, and built in 1901.[7]
Keilhaus topp
Mountain in Norway. Keilhaus topp is one of Norway's highest mountains, but is not always included in rankings due to its prominence of only 20 m.
The summit lies approximately 750 m east of Galdhøpiggen, Norway's highest.[8]
Surtningssue
Mountain in Norway. Surtningssue is the seventh-highest mountain in Norway. It lies in Jotunheimen, on the border between the municipalities Lom and Vågå. Surtningssue has several distinct peaks, of which Store Surtningssue is the highest.
Surtningssue is most easily reached from the cabin Memurubu, along the northern shore of Gjendin.[9]
Visbretinden
Mountain in Norway. Visbretinden is a mountain centrally located in the Jotunheimen mountain range of Lom Kommune in Innlandet in central Norway.
It has a height of 2,234 metres above sea level and is the 41nd highest mountain in the country.[10]
Svartholshøi
Mountain in Norway. Svartholshøi is a mountain of Innlandet, in southern Norway.[11]
Skarddalstinden
Mountain in Norway. Skarddalstinden is a mountain of Innlandet, in southern Norway.[12]
Vesle Knutsholstinden
Mountain in Norway. Vesle Knutsholstinden is a mountain of Innlandet, in southern Norway.[13]
Vetle Skagastølstind
Peak in Norway. Vetle Skagastølstinden is one of the peaks constituting Skagastølstindane in the Hurrungane mountain range and is among Norway's highest. The 2,340-metre tall mountain is located in the eastern part of the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. It lies directly between the mountains Midtre Skagastølstind, Store Skagastølstind, and Sentraltind. The mountains Store Styggedalstinden and Jervvasstind lie 1.5 kilometres to the east, and the village of Skjolden lies 15 kilometres to the west.[14]
Address: Vetle Skagastølstind, Jotunheimen
Trollsteineggi
Mountain in Norway. Trollsteineggi is a mountain just north of Glittertind, in Lom municipality, Innlandet, Norway.[15]
Besshø
Mountain in Norway. Besshø, is a mountain in Vågå in Innlandet county, Norway, and is part of the Jotunheimen mountain range. It lies right above Bessvatnet, along the Besseggen hiking trail. On the mountain's north-eastern side a small cirque glacier, and is surrounded by a large ice-cored moraine, a relatively rare feature in Norway.
From Besseggen there is a nice view over Gjende and Bessvatnet. Gjende is about 400 m lower than Bessvatnet. While Bessvatnet has a blue colour common to lakes, Gjende has a green colour due to glacier runoff depositing clay into the lake (rock flour).[16]
Midtre Skagastølstind
Peak in Norway. Midtre Skagastølstind is one of the peaks constituting Skagastølstindane in the Hurrungane mountain range. The 2,284-metre tall mountain lies in the eastern part of the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The mountain lies in between Nordre Skagastølstind, Vetle Skagastølstind, and Store Skagastølstind. The mountains Store Styggedalstinden, Jervvasstind, and Sentraltind all lie about 1 to 2 kilometres to the east of this mountain. The village of Skjolden lies about 15 kilometres to the west.[17]
Store Austanbotntind
Also known as: Store Austanbottstind
Mountain in Norway. Store Austanbotntind is a mountain on the border of the municipalities of Luster and Årdal in Vestland county, Norway. It is the highest peak in the western part of the Hurrungane mountain range. The mountain is located in Jotunheimen National Park, about 12.5 kilometres southeast of the village of Skjolden. The easiest route to the summit involves climbing, though relatively easy, and crossing of an exposed snow flank.
The nearby mountains Store Skagastølstind, Vetle Skagastølstind, and Midtre Skagastølstind are all located about 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) to the northeast of Store Austanbotntind.[18]
Vesle Galdhøpiggen
Also known as: Veslpiggen
Mountain in Norway. Vesle Galdhøpiggen is a mountain summit close to Galdhøpiggen in the municipality of Lom in Innlandet county, Norway. It is the sixth highest mountain in Norway.
It lies approximately 600 m north-northwest of Galdhøpiggen.[19]
Address: Vesle Galdhøpiggen, Jotunheimen
Kyrkja
Mountain in Norway. Kyrkja is a mountain of Innlandet in southern Norway. Kyrkja is nicknamed “The Church”, because its peak is extremely steep and resembles a church spire. Kyrkyja was thought to be unclimbable until the 19th century, due to its steepness. Despite its slopes, climbing to the top is a day’s hike, helped by the rocks covering the mountainside. Kyrkja used to be covered in snow, but climate change has severely lessened the amount of snow on the mountain.[20]
Address: Postadresse: kyrkjesenteret, pb 133, Jotunheimen