Jostedalsbreen — Local services in Stryn

The largest glacier in mainland Europe, a remnant of a vast ice sheet that covered the whole of Norway until about 10,000 years ago.

The Jostedal Icefield (breen is Norwegian for “glacier”) lies in southwestern Norway and has an area of about 185 square miles (480 square km), with its highest point at 6,421 ft (1,957 m) above sea level. In places, its ice is more than 1,300 ft (400 m) thick. The icefield survives primarily because of high regional snowfall rather than particularly cold temperatures.

Locked-up water. The top, or central, part of the icefield is a slightly undulating and largely featureless expanse of white ice and the source of numerous outlet glaciers. The total mass of ice corresponds to approximately 300 billion bathtubs of water, or all of Norway’s water use for 100 years. However, this mass is diminishing, as reflected by a high rate of melting at the snouts of Jostedalsbreen’s outlet glaciers. Some of these, such as Nigardsbreen, contain spectacular...

Splendid glacier, beautiful piece of nature, definitely a must see if you are in the area. To get nearest to the glacier by a car, you need to pass a toll barrier first. From the parking place you need go take a boat and then there is a 1,5 hour easy-medium hike to the glacier. A guided tour must be booked if you actually want to hike on the glacier. The necessary equipments (shoe petzl and ice raven axe) are included in the tour. The guide will take you in special places on glacier where you might view holes, tunnels, or other spectacular glacier stuff.

We had visited this glacier also 15 years ago where we could actually hike on the glacier directly from the hike path. The glacier is now melted back into a lake in front where a short boat trip is necessary.

When high enough on the glacier, you can enjoy a gorgeous view on the Nigardsbreen...

An unreal experience! It's huge! Beautifully! One of the unforgettable experiences in life. I have to say that seeing such a mass of ice with her own eyes is unreal, but sad about it is how much glaciers have fallen and how quickly it dwindles every day. I recommend taking warmer clothes. As soon as you get to the lake, it will be cooler. And if you go with the agency to go after the glaciers, I really recommend high boots from my own experience. Otherwise, you'll have a special shoe with annoying...