In the Land of Snow and Sun

Adventure is year-round in Norway as the country’s landscapes transform through the seasons. Set off on exhilarating snowmobile rides amid snow-blanketed forests or spot seals and walruses basking under the midnight sun.

Words: BRITTANY REEVE

Spring

Spring unfurls slowly in dribs and drabs across Norway as February tiptoes into March, with colder days poking their heads through at sudden moments. Before you know it, the snow has completely melted, giving way to rolling green hills and the rhythmic melody of gushing waterfalls. The sweet tunes of skylarks and lapwings announce the return of migratory birds, while Sami reindeer herders continue the timeless tradition of following their herds as they head instinctively toward the Arctic Ocean in search of warmer pastures. Spring has finally sprung.

Exploring Ålesund

Lying halfway up Norway’s west coast and framed by the picturesque Sunnmøre Alps, Ålesund is famed for its cod fishing. The town’s cobbled streets are bedecked with Art Nouveau architecture, a style which emerged here after a fire swept through the town in 1904. Today Ålesund is enchanting with its colourful array of houses and fairytale towers.

Walk through downtown Ålesund, where theatres and antique shops line the streets, before carving a path up to the Aksla Viewpoint, from where a beautiful view of the town extends below you. To truly escape into nature, head out on a guided hike through the spectacular Sunnmøre Alps and admire the soaring mountains, or paddle through the glistening waters of the Borgund Fjord in a kayak.

A cruise down the Geirangerfjord

Known as the "jewel in the crown" of the Norwegian fjords, the Geirangerfjord could have been dreamt up in a fairytale, with snow-dusted mountains, emerald green forests and azure waters. It’s been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005.

A cruise down the magnificent fjord in March, when winter gives way to spring, reveals the beauty of changing seasons. The melting snow makes the De Sju Søstre (Seven Sisters) waterfall all the more breathtaking, as it creates a powerful surge of water down the mountainside that echoes throughout the fjord. In late spring, a bounty of fruit trees blanket the fjord’s slopes, their startling white flowers casting the sweet scents of apples, cherries and pears into the air. If you are lucky, you may be able to spot porpoises playing in the water.

Summer

Whilst winter in Norway is renowned for the northern lights, the summer months of June, July and August offer their own unique phenomenon – the midnight sun, where daylight lingers for longer in the north. Places like the Svalbard Islands enjoy four months of constant daylight, making it the ideal time of year to spot polar bears and arctic foxes within the archipelago’s seven national parks, or marvel at the abundance of walruses and seals in the surrounding waters.

A visit to a farming village

In the small Norwegian village of Glomset, deep in the Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county, live Inger Anne and Bjørn Tolaas. Having called this village home for nearly 70 years, this couple now stay on a farm fringing the Storfjord, where they preserve traditions from their Viking ancestors as they cultivate the land. Everything they serve they have hunted, caught, baked or grown themselves. In the late summer, a tour of the farm will include berry-picking trips to the nearby forest and fishing in the fjords' serene waters. In fact, the seafood here has been one of the biggest reasons the Tolaas’ have stayed in Glomset for so long; salmon, cod, halibut, herring, lobster and crab found in the Storfjord are all traditional menu staples. As meals are enjoyed, perhaps smoked salmon with Norwegian flatbrød, the Tolaas’ tell tales plucked from Norse mythology, weaving together a magical experience.

Hiking along the Lysaker River

The Lysaker River, known as Lysakerelven in Norway, acts as the boundary between Oslo and Bærum, its winding path enclosed by the forests of Oslomarkvassdragene before it spills out into the Lysakerfjorden. A hike along the banks of the river takes you past sun-dappled spruce trees and into the vivid green deciduous forest around Lake Bogstad. You may hear the unmistakable drilling sound of a lesser spotted woodpecker, or glimpse the majestic antlers of moose entering rutting season.

You’ll hear the roar of the Fåbrofossen waterfall as you approach. The surrounding fertile ground has played host to sawmills, mills and industrial activities over the last few centuries, with only a whisper of the past – a spattering of offices –remaining today. It’s worth pausing here for a few moments to breathe, feeling the sun warm your face as you listen to the rush of water and the twittering of distant birds, before you head back into the hubbub of Oslo.

Autumn

When summer fades and the leaves begin to burn into shades of amber and gold, you know that autumn has arrived. The months of September to November are a spectacular time in Norway. The Lofoten Islands’ craggy mountains reveal fields of once-purple heather that are now ablaze with rich reds and yellows. Forests overflow with endless bounties of mushrooms and wild berries. It’s the ideal season to go storm-watching. Norway is littered with a handful of cabins and lighthouses built to allow you to watch in comfort as the sky cracks into a thousand colours and the wind rages against the windows. Or indulge in an exploration of Norway’s harvest and savour moose with lingonberries and cream sauce, succulent lamb accompanied by carrots and crispy chanterelles.

Riding the Rauma railway

Covering 115 kilometres (71 miles) between Dombås and Åndalsnes, the Rauma railway showcases some of Norway’s most impressive waterfalls, mountains and winding rivers through its expansive windows, despite being just a regular Norwegian Railway train. Åndalsnes itself is a stunning location, on the edge of the Romsdals fjord and engulfed by mist-coated mountains. As the train rumbles to life and pulls away, the fjord will begin to shrink and disappear, plunging you into the forests of the Romsdalen Valley.

This journey is truly a sight to behold in autumn: the sweeping forests are an explosion of colour, broken up by the Kylling bridge and the pitchfork-shaped Vermafossen waterfall which snakes into the river Verma. The train also passes through the mountain village of Bjorli in Lesja, where a

scene for one of the Harry Potter movies was filmed. Speeding through the rugged landscapes and untamed nature offers a glimpse of the perilous conditions faced during the railway’s construction, which took eight years to complete a century ago.

A Svalbard cruise

A yacht charter through the Svalbard archipelago is a great way to discover Norway’s wildlife, particularly in the autumn months when sunsets transform the sky and the returning snow reflects the colourful display. Polar bears and walruses can still be spotted in September on Zodiac boat excursions, sleeping on ice flows or roaming the Svalbard wilderness. Close to the coasts you might hear a cat-like cry from above, a flash of crimson catching your eye as you glance up to find the red-throated diver, Svalbard’s migratory bird, heading south for winter.

You can also marvel at the Austfonna Ice Cap as the meltwater waterfalls pour out into the sea, or head north to see some of Svalbard’s 2,000 glaciers bathed in golden light.

Winter

In the winter months of December to February, Norway morphs into a wonderland of snowy forests and sparkling glaciers. With most of the northern part of the country buried in snow, this makes way for plenty of snowmobiling and sledding adventures, or cruises through picturesque fishing villages and ice-cold fjords. The city of Tromsø receives a month-long polar night, where locals reside in perpetual twilight, while Oslo is blessed with a handful of daylight hours. The darkness only makes the beauty of the northern lights more extraordinary.

Chasing the northern lights in Alta

Alta, located just above the Arctic circle at the tip of the Altafjord, is the gateway to Finmark, Norway’s most vast and barren county known as Norwegian Lapland. The cold and long winter nights here are the perfect setting for embarking on a search for the famed Aurora Borealis. Cruise through the wide Jøkelfjord on a boat, the waters of the fjord an inky black, your breath leaving tendrils in the icy air. Or race across the endless white plains of the Alta Valley on a snowmobile, the wind whipping through your hair as you reach the vast Finnmark Plateau. The vibrant hues that dance across the dark sky, filling the world with their radiance, certainly make venturing into the cold worth it.

The natural phenomenon of the northern lights inspired the architecture of Alta’s Northern Lights Cathedral, completed in 2013 and instantly recognisable for its spiral pyramid structure and floodlit glow in the winter months. Alta is also home to the World Heritage Rock Art Centre within the Alta Museum, where you can explore life 7,000 years ago through the largest collection of rock art curated by hunter-gatherers in Northern Europe.

Whale spotting in the Altafjord

From November to January, Alta becomes a prime whale-spotting location as they migrate to the fjords to feast on herring. A whale safari takes you past the magnificent mountains fringing the Altafjord, with the captain turning off the boat’s engines when you spot a pod of sperm whales. Only the frigid ocean air and the repetitive slap of the water against your boat remain your companions. Then, with a flick of its mighty tail, a sperm whale breaches, sending waves rippling across the fjord. It’s a majestic sight only further enriched by the possibility of glimpsing frolicking porpoises and hourglass dolphins.