Trekking straight into Middle Earth

It was during a 3 day visit to Norway that I have made some of the most beautiful and memorable moments of my life.

This escapade into the very lap of Mother Nature has been quite an offbeat experience for me, since I have seen from up close, both the sheer beauty as well as harsh reality of delving deep into this wonderland. It was like a roller-coaster ride from calm & serenity to absolute adrenaline rush and back.

Fjords of Norway

Our first day in Norway itself had begun with such splendor; it had left us impressed the moment we set foot at the place. We cruised through the intricate fjords of Western Norway that were absolutely marvelous to say the least. Fjords are deep but narrow extensions of the sea lined on either sides with steep mountains and surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery. Apparently, these fjords in Norway were carved millions of years ago by Glaciers that were more than 3 Kms thick!

Sailing through these tranquil fjords, we could see beautiful snowcapped mountains jutting up and beyond into the clouds. We realized these were some of the very same peaks that we have witnessed from the skies while flying to Norway. It was truly a magnificent sight, staring into the marvelous landscape of the fjords. This picture here speaks a thousand words…

Trolltunga – To heaven and back on a 22km trek through hell

After the comfortable sail through the fjords, our day 2 plan was to conquer one of these beautiful snowcapped mountains surrounding the fjord. Little did we know that the very mountain that looked so at peace and welcoming could prove to be so harsh and painful to scale. But… we did conquer it after all!

Trek to trolltunga, hands down, was the highlight of the vacation. Trolltunga (Troll's tongue) is a piece of rock jutting out of a mountain from a point which is 2300ft above the ground. We were a group of four, carrying our backpacks which had our jackets, sunscreen and 2 snickers & cereal bars for lunch. We began with a grueling and steep climb onto a mountain, clambering up uneven rocks taking the support of old worn-out ropes and getting breathless every few seconds. This went on for over an hour, many a times during which we asked fellow trekkers how much distance we have covered. Just when we were hoping that we might have at least covered 3 to 4 kms of our 11 km upward hike, we heard the sounds of a strong stream gushing about. We had a good drink from the stream and spotted a sign across this stream. We crossed the stream and found to our dismay that we have till then, covered only 1km and were left with 10kms more to go! That was when we actually realized the true nature of our daring expedition.

We went on, and the path became less steep but more slippery because of all the streams that were flowing down from the top of the mountains. We carefully waded through this for 4 kms to reach another point where we saw the first traces of snow. This showed we were indeed reaching the top of the mountain. The snow was getting thicker, but at places there were streams flowing under the glacier. One wrong step, and we could fall through the snow and get carried away under the glacier by the furious streams roaring past underneath. We hiked carefully across this expanse for few more kms when we reached a point where we had an amazing view of the fjord below. We took time for a cereal bar and then started out on our way. Pure is the synonym for the water which I drank out of the streams on these mountains.

This was when we reached a point in the path, which I named as the ‘Torture Path’. We had to walk on a narrow path around a mountain covered with thick snow, with the fjord clearly visible thousands of feet below. Just a slip would be enough to cost us our lives. 3 more kms after this path, we had our first glimpses of the much awaited rock – trolltunga. We forgot all our hardship once we reached this place – no words to describe the view. We spent an hour there and started back on this impossible path. It took us a total of 12 hrs time, hell lot of determination and strength to complete this trek. Truly a confidence booster!

Fläm - The most beautiful train journey in the world

We woke up to the sweet pains of trek from the previous day, but went on to discover more in this land we were in love with. We were not disappointed. We took the Flamsbana which is one of the steepest train-lines in the world beginning from ocean level to the top of a mountain. We had spectacular views in this journey, from steep mountain ranges to breathtaking waterfalls cutting through the mountains with such force that will fill you with fear and wonder.

There is a halt in this journey when passengers can get down to a bridge to admire a colossal waterfall gushing down the mountains. It was here that I saw something that just blew my mind. Water was coming down with such force that there were droplets of water everywhere and we were wet in a second. The sun was shining particularly bright that day. It was when the sun met these droplets that a fantastic, vivid rainbow has formed across the falls. This rainbow was so close to the bridge on which we were standing that we could in fact put our hand across it and had the colors play on our palms! We touched the rainbow!! This was definitely a grand conclusion to our amazing journey through Norway.

At the end of our third day, we left the place thoroughly enthralled hoping to be back some time…

For those of you who enjoy the blues and greens of nature, Norway surely will go into your diary as a ‘Blissful Paradise’! – Do Not Miss!!