Wilderness holidays in Norway

In mainland Europe wilderness is vanishingly rare. But Norway, with its sparse population and dramatic geography, where only three percent of the land is farmed, is wilder than most countries. You only have to look to its mountains, to the expanses above the Arctic Circle, or beyond the treeline. Here, villmark – wilderness – is a part of life.

I’ve spent time camping in northern Norway, in the Lofoten Islands and in Nordland. I’ve spent ages trying to construct a fire, only for my Norwegian companion to sigh. Because my occasional dabbling in building fires in a fireplace around Christmas was no match for her years of daily fire-building. For many Norwegians, it’s part of the friluftsliv – open-air living – that is a key part of life. This is one of the least densely populated countries in Europe and all non-cultivated land is accessible under allemannsrett, the right to roam.

Norway’s 47 national parks have strict rules compared to many other countries and allow next to no vehicles to enter. These are the places where the last of Norway’s big predators roam – brown bears, wolves, wolverines and lynx – and musk ox, elk, moose and wild reindeer. Some, like Rago National Park, have almost no tourist infrastructure; meaning no trails, campsites, roads, and no signposts to follow. Over 85 percent of Norway’s national parks are mountainous, a maze of difficult-to reach valleys and plateaus.

Hiking in the national parks, you might pass reindeer traps, or abandoned farms, or the odd cairn, but the signifiers of a human landscape lie apart and isolated. By its definition, wilderness is emptied of most human infrastructure – from power lines to walking trails. On Spitsbergen, in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, it’s this very emptiness which is the draw.

Birgitte Tautra Vegsund works with our partner Basecamp Spitsbergen on our Svalbard archipelago activity holidays. On the mainland, you have wonderful nature as well – the mountain peaks, the green forest,” says Birgitte. “But here, everywhere is stripped and you have this naked nature.”

Birgitte moved to Longyearbyen from mainland Norway. “In the wintertime, everything is covered in this white cape. It looks so clean. For me, one of the special things with Arctic nature is the light. If you take away trees and forests, the light takes up so much space.”

“Norway holds a raw beauty that I would encourage anyone to go and see in person if they can,” says Jade McKay-Clarke, from our partners for Norway wilderness trips, Activities Abroad. “It is both elating and humbling to experience wilderness, and to take joy from something as simple as being outdoors, admiring the scenery or witnessing wildlife.”

“I have been lucky enough to visit Norway across different seasons and can recall being in complete awe of the landscapes,” says Jade. “Coming from the rolling hills of Northumberland (all relatively flat in comparison), the contrast of the rugged mountains was unbelievable.”

Whilst some wilderness expeditions require some preparation, experiencing the wilderness can be as simple as lying in the heather, taking stock of an enormous sky.

To some, wilderness is a luxury, in which you’re granted the privilege of solitude.

“You’re not in areas where you meet a lot of other guides,” Birgitte explains. “You get that luxurious feeling of being alone in the world – that’s something that really sticks with people.”

Luxury and wilderness go together surprisingly well, especially if you’re interested in eating sustainable, local food and enjoying the latest technology. Take Isfjord Radio Adventure Hotel, on Spitsbergen, an outpost built in 1933 that is 90km from the Svalbard capital of Longyearbyen. On our holidays here you can enjoy saunas and ice baths, and then a multi-course meal of delicacies, including seal tartare, lobster soup and blood pudding.

“Tommy Sandal is the last and remaining full time trapper in Svalbard,” says Birgitte. “In the autumn we receive 17 reindeers arriving from his field station and we use all parts of them for the next season – from the bones to… everything else.”

“Our partners in Svalbard are proud to offer zero-emission and almost silent electric snowmobiles tours,” says Jade, “as well as new and groundbreaking hybrid electric catamaran tours, which are a great choice for the eco-conscious explorer.”

There’s also Viewpoint SNOHETTA, an ‘architectural viewing pavilion’ made of wood and glass, complete with wood burning stove. It’s part of a visitor centre in the Dovrefjell mountains, from which you can sit, very stylishly, and look for Norway’s last free-roaming reindeer.

In true wilderness trekking, you’ll need good hiking boots to navigate pathless, rocky areas where glaciers have melted away and left chunky rocks. The only sign of human habitation might be the summer bridges, on which hikers converge. These flimsy-looking temporary structures, that would be crushed under heavy snowfall if they were left over winter, are erected each year after snowmelt, so that people can cross the many streams and rivers.

The Norwegian Trekking Association (Den Norske Turistforening – or DNT) allows hikers to use huts across the country for a small membership fee. They’ve also marked the trails; rocks are painted with universally recognisable red ‘T’ walking signs for routes.

See the wilderness from the well-marked restored Pilgrim Path on our walking holiday in Dovrefjell National Park. Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park was created specifically to preserve some of Norway’s last remaining wild reindeer. The park is also home to musk ox and mountain foxes.

As soon as there’s a road, there is, by some definitions, no wilderness. But tell that to the 140km-long Wilderness Road (Villmarksveien), a scenic route that gives you a wild introduction to Helgeland, the most southerly of northern Norway provinces. The route runs past Borgefjell National Park and Rossvatnet, Norway’s second-largest lake, giving you views of the Okstindan mountains. It doesn’t get much wilder.

Our multi-day mushing trip with sled dogs is a full-on adventure. "On this trip, you work as the musher,” Birgitte explains. “You have to provide for your team through the whole trip.”

This means feeding the dogs, cuddling them, and putting them to bed at night, as well as mastering them during the days. The bonds you make – both with your expert local guide and with your dogs – becomes very strong.

“When the guests come, they meet the guide – but when they leave, they really know the guide,” Birgitte explains. “And often, years later, they contact us and ask how their team is doing and how the dogs are.”

Getting around by sled is a common theme in the wilderness – but in the summer, the snow has melted but the huskies are still there… and bored to boot. You can go exploring with a dog instead on our husky wilderness experience in Norway. This is no walk in the park. These dogs need their exercise. It’s a good thing that the sun doesn’t go down ‘til late. “Combining the outdoors with a thrilling experience – think dog sledding on wheels – is an exciting way to explore,” says Jade.

Off-track touring – where you don’t follow a set path on your skis – is made for exploring the wilderness. In winter and spring, head above the treeline onto the plateaus, and tour the moors. Experience it on our cross country skiing holiday, near Rondane National Park.

Wilderness areas seem very large, but Norway’s forestry industry –at its most rampant in the 19th century – removed forest across the country, and very little remains. One of the last old-growth wilderness forest areas in the country is in Trillemarka, 100km west of Oslo.

Many wildernesses are inhabited – the Sámi people in northern Norway have existed in and shaped the landscapes with their nomadic herder lifestyles. Nor can we call all wildernesses untouched, when so many lives interact with the wilderness through the national parks.

On Finnmarksvidda, Norway’s largest plateau, the last reindeer herders in Europe cross wind turbine-topped landscapes. Norway has big plans to turn itself into a ‘green battery of Europe’ using hydro, solar and wind power. Sámi communities have disputed the use of their herding land to build turbines which reindeer won’t go near; talks reached an agreement after years of dispute.

The last, most existential threat to the wilderness is climate change.

“What you can really see is the changes of the ice conditions during winter and how the glaciers have withdrawn,” explains Birgitte. “You can also see that the weather is unstable. There are milder periods and there’s more avalanche risk than before.”

Local guides, who have spent decades in the area, and hold an Arctic Nature Guide qualification from the Arctic University of Norway, will be able to point out how the landscape has changed. Trips each year have to be built with a certain level of adaptation, as the weather patterns shift.

The wilderness is vast, and we are very small. One experience is never enough. There are always wilder places, bigger landscapes, more intense experiences. That’s how Birgitte found herself on Spitsbergen, following a call of the wild that’s changed how she sees the world:

“The shifting of the light from total darkness to the midnight sun, and then in-between these magical sunsets – these light shows when the light returns in February and everything is blue. You crave it so much. In the summer you only have the daylight and, in the winter, you get so focused on it.

“I’ve changed. When I’m on the mainland in winter and people complain about the night – well, there, I only see the light.”