Beautiful geirgangerfjord. (Other locations...)

Member Name: karlsm93

Product:	Other locations...
Date:	12/01/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Boat tour of fjord.

Disadvantages: Too many cruise ships for the the size of the town.

One of the most widely known tourist sites in Norway has to be Geirganger fjord and justly so. As we approached the little town travelling down 11 hairpin bends we were able to pull in at the signposted Ornesvingen viewing gallery giving plenty of opportunity to photograph the fjord and one of the most well known waterfalls - The Seven Sisters (its name derived from the fact that there are seven little waterfalls together) We stayed a little out of the town at a hotel overlooking the fjord but which also had its own camping ground for those wishing to backpack or simply save money and haul out the tent). We were thankful we did. On our first day there, there were 3 huge cruise ships docked ferrying passengers in the small town/village on water taxi's. As this occurred the town was heaving with people and with only a few shops and restaurants in the town there wasn't much room to breathe. However as the clock struck 5, the mass of cruise passengers returned to their water taxi's and the town returned to normality. This gave us the chance to properly see the town, and I am loathed to call it a town, because it consists of a few shops, restaurants and over priced hotels. What makes this place worth visiting is the Geirangerfjord boat tour (make sure you go early in the morning as there can be long queues at the tourist office for tickets!) We passed beautiful waterfalls (all with their own story told over the loud speaker on the boat) such as the forementioned Seven sisters, the suitor and teh bridal veil, as well as cliff top deserted farms. If you are a keen rambler you can taje advantage of the fact that the sightseeing boat will drop you off at the foot of some of the cliffs from where you can climb to see the old abandoned farms with your own eyes. It was possible to travel to Hellesylt on the boat tour but we simply did the round trip. For those looking to escape the opressive crowds take refuge at the other purpose built viewing platform - Flydalsjuvet, but be warned there are yet more hairpin bends to climb - frightening if like us you are in a small car about a meet a succession of tour buses on their route down. One viewing point that was included in all the guidebooks which we unfortunately missed is Dalsnibba (which stands at a height of 1500, above sea level if I remember correctly)
This site has been included in the UNESCO world heritage site listings and understandably so given its vast and untamed beauty that is only briefly shattered by the cruise ships wanting to sail through the much photgraphed fjord. The dark mountains encasing the fjord make it an experience unlikely to be forgotten and one which many other now tacky,touristy and exploited famous landscapes once were like.

Summary: Worth its UNESCO heritage site label.