Geirangerfjord — Attraction in Stranda

After travelling through Norway I've left a bunch of five star ratings all over the country, as it's one of the most beautiful places in Europe. Geirangerfjord, on the other hand, is not there for me. Few things to note (that miraculously no one talks about) before you decide to visit:

-It's a tourist trap. You drive a lot to get there, but only to find a small town overran with tourists and places selling overpriced stuff, not to mention the giant cruise ships polluting the air. You can take your hiking boots to get close to nature but for that you seriously have to luck out on the weather (more on that later).

-More difficult to access than expected. We drove there using road 63 from the south, which dropped something like a thousand meters (!) of elevation in just a few kilometers. The road was not wide enough to say the least, whilst the traffic was a nightmare, with buses and rental cars trying to pass each other on a one and a half-lane-road riddled with serpentines.

-Godforsaken weather. Even when it's sunny elsewhere, here you're got to get lucky to see decent views. Do not expect those blue sky pictures you see on Google, unless you checked the forecast prior to visiting and are sure it won't rain cats and dogs while there.

Overall it's an ok place with nice nature, but there are like a hundred more spectacular places in Norway, where you can see almost the same fjord views with better weather, without having to share it with thousands of tourists and having to drive such roads...

In the land of hundreds of magnificent fjords, Geiranger is considered Norway’s most beautiful: A spectacular creation by glaciers, this fjord is about 15 km long and 1.5 km wide at its widest part. With almost vertical mountain sides and no habitable coast, the occasional abandoned mountain farms bear witness to the relentless efforts of humankind to conquer nature and gain a foothold. The most popular way of seeing the fjord is by ferry, but kayaking is as much fun.

You will pass by spectacular waterfalls that thunder down the steep mountain cliffs, creating a permanent veil of fog and endless rainbows. Another way of seeing the fjord is by taking the famous Trollstigen road, built in 1936 in an amazing feat of engineering, which snakes up steep mountain sides; narrow, occasionally protected by stone railings, and passing by massive waterfalls, it is nerve-wracking yet absolutely fascinating. The whole area is a dreamland for daredevils and adrenaline junkies, who find the steep cliffs a supreme challenge for climbing, rappelling,...

In the land of hundreds of magnificent fjords, Geiranger is considered Norway’s most beautiful: A spectacular creation by glaciers, this fjord is about 15 km long and 1.5 km wide at its widest part. With almost vertical mountain sides and no habitable coast, the occasional abandoned mountain farms bear witness to the relentless efforts of humankind to conquer nature and gain a foothold. The most popular way of seeing the fjord is by ferry, but kayaking is as much fun. You will pass by spectacular waterfalls that thunder down the steep mountain cliffs, creating a permanent veil of fog and endless rainbows. Another way of seeing the fjord is by taking the famous Trollstigen road, built in 1936 in an amazing feat of engineering, which snakes up steep mountain sides; narrow, occasionally protected by stone railings, and passing by massive waterfalls, it is nerve-wracking yet absolutely fascinating. The whole area is a dreamland for daredevils and adrenaline junkies, who find the steep cliffs a supreme challenge for climbing, rappelling,...