Difficult
Jotunheimen, the Home of the Giants, contains the highest mountains in Scandinavia. Galdhøpiggen reaches 2,469 metres, Glittertind stands at 2,452, and over 250 peaks in the range exceed 1,900 metres. The national park was established in 1980, covering 1,151 square kilometres.
The name was coined by poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje in 1862, inspired by the giants of Norse mythology. Before that, Norwegians considered these mountains barren wasteland, useful only as summer pasture. It was British Victorian mountaineers who turned Jotunheimen into a climbing destination in the mid-1800s, and the Den Norske Turistforening (DNT) soon followed with its network of mountain lodges that still operates today.
The most iconic hike is Besseggen, a narrow ridge between the green Gjende lake and the blue-black Bessvatnet, drawing around 30,000 hikers each summer. But Jotunheimen has dozens of glacier routes, alpine climbs and multi-day traverses. The Hurrungane range in the southwest is considered the most alpine terrain in Norway. A process is underway to expand the park eastward toward Valdresflye, where it would nearly meet Langsua National Park, creating a continuous protected mountain landscape with only the Rv51 road between them.
The name was coined by poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje in 1862, inspired by the giants of Norse mythology. Before that, Norwegians considered these mountains barren wasteland, useful only as summer pasture. It was British Victorian mountaineers who turned Jotunheimen into a climbing destination in the mid-1800s, and the Den Norske Turistforening (DNT) soon followed with its network of mountain lodges that still operates today.
The most iconic hike is Besseggen, a narrow ridge between the green Gjende lake and the blue-black Bessvatnet, drawing around 30,000 hikers each summer. But Jotunheimen has dozens of glacier routes, alpine climbs and multi-day traverses. The Hurrungane range in the southwest is considered the most alpine terrain in Norway. A process is underway to expand the park eastward toward Valdresflye, where it would nearly meet Langsua National Park, creating a continuous protected mountain landscape with only the Rv51 road between them.