Folgefonna Nasjonalpark

The geologist is able to read the rocks and terrain features, deciphering a geological history that stretches at least 1.5 billion years back in time. Folgefonnhalvøya is a peninsula that has been exposed to powerful and varied forces.

Sediments formed on what was once ocean floor, and later congealed under enormous weight into metamorphic rock. Tectonic plates colliding or pushing past each other then folded the rock and pushed high mountains toward the sky.

The fjords and valleys that we see today were carved out by the massive icecap that covered western Norway and most of Scandinavia during not one but a series of more than 40 ice ages over the course of the last 2.7 million years. Geologically speaking, that is very recent! Today, the landscape is still being shaped – by the continued grinding of icefalls, and mountains that scale off and cleave due to repeated winter freezing and spring thaw, raging rivers, erosion and rock-slides.Ice as sculptor

Rosendal you can learn more about how to read the signs that reveal the history of magnificent Folgefonna. For an extended exploration of the fascinating interplay between ice and stone, consider hiking the Geological Path. This well-marked path goes from Nordrepollen, in the innermost reaches of the Mauranger fjord, to the glacier arm called Botnabreen.

Møsevatnet – © Svein Opdal

Bring your binoculars!

The region hosts a varied birdlife; if you’re a bird-lover, be sure to pack your binoculars and bring a good zoom lens for your camera. Ptarmigan, snow bunting and meadow pipits are common at the higher altitudes. Further down in the woodlands you may come across black grouse and capercaillie.

Every now and then a rockslide clears a new swath through the upper forests. The white-backed woodpecker, which has become rare elsewhere in Europe, favours this habitat of decomposing trees, in which it finds nourishing larvae.

Dippers and wagtails

A bird that is heard but rarely seen is the cuckoo – you’ll know if it is nearby. Also distinctive are the songs of the chaffinch, with its faster and faster descending notes, concluding with a sharp tone, the plaintive tree pipit, and the song thrush, perhaps the most melodic bird heard in these tracts.If you’re lucky, you may see an intrepid little bird diving into river rapids for food. This is the white-throated dipper, Norway’s national bird. Don’t be surprised if it is joined in its hunt by the grey wagtail, which may well be nesting on the nearby cliffs.

White-throated dipper – © Jan Rabben

Colouring a mountain

The highest peaks may seem barren of life, but look more closely and you will see splotches of lichen. One of the most eye-catching is a yellow-green map lichen that can colour a whole mountain! Don’t be surprised if you see moss campion, alpine bartsia, pyramidal and starry saxifrage clutching the steep rock faces above the screes and boulder-fields.

Botanical oasis

If you want to visit a botanical oasis, head for Skjeggesnuten or Sauanuten, where a rich alpine flora thrives because of the calcareous bedrock.

Many streams carry water down from the snowmelts and the glacier. A large number of ferns grow near the spray zones of waterfalls and on the weather side of the peninsula.

Moist and lush

Down by the fjord and in the moist western woodlands, the vegetation is quite lush. Typical coastal plants include foxglove, bog asphodel, cross-leaved heather, hard-fern, lemon-scented fern and great wood-rush. In this temperate climate, however, their habitat extends all the way up towards the treeline.

Cotton-grass – ©

Greplyng – ©

Fjordside hamlets and villages

Many of the farms date back to pre-Viking times. The old hamlet Agatunet shows that Norwegian farming was once a more cooperative effort. Did you know the first apple seeds were brought to Hardanger in the 12th century by Cistercian monks? Fertile soil, long summer days and an organic approach to farming explain why our local fruit is so tasty! During the harvest season fruit and berries are often sold by the roadside. The local culture is so honest that if the sales booth is unmanned, you can just help yourself and leave payment in the bowl.

Viking heritage and archaeological finds

Many archaeological finds have been made at site on the Folgefonna peninsula. Here and there are information boards that cast light on the “history” of the landscape. As you explore villages and hamlets, you will also notice that the most common roofing material is slate, which has been locally quarried since time immemorial.

Hardanger is legendary for its boat-building traditions. Some designs have changed little since the Vikings – you don’t improve on perfection.

Ancient paths

In Folgefonna National Park and the surrounding area, you can hike a network of well-marked trails. Some of these are century-old trackways, such as Keiserstien (the Kaiser’s Path, named after Kaiser Wilhelm who once walked here) and Isstien (the Ice Path, on which ice was transported down to a dock on the fjord, carried on boats to provide the refrigeration needs of coastal towns and villages). Elsewhere you follow the drove-paths on which centuries of farmers have brought livestock up to the summer pastures. Yet other paths, to and through scenic highlights, are established by generations of nature enthusiasts and the Norwegian Tourist Association.

Agatunet – © Arnstein Karlsen

Båtbyggarmuseum – © Herand Landskapspark