Breheimen National Park

Norway · Europe · Visited 6 November 2025 · Established 2009

I drove Breheimen on my way from Jostedalsbreen to Jotunheimen, where I was heading to climb Galdhøpiggen, the highest mountain in Norway. But even as a drive-through, Breheimen left an impression.

The park covers 1,691 square kilometres, and it feels it. The roads that skirt and cut through the park wind between mountains that seem to go on forever. There's no town, no settlement, no sign of anything human for long stretches. Just peaks, valleys, glacial rivers, and silence. It's one of the largest intact wilderness areas in southern Norway, and from behind the wheel you believe it. You could drive for an hour and not see another car.

Loen and the Geirangerfjord

Before heading into Breheimen, I stayed in the village of Loen, tucked at the end of the Nordfjord beneath steep green mountainsides. It's a small place but a cool base, well positioned between Jostedalsbreen and the road east. If you're in the area, the Geirangerfjord is worth a detour. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Norway's most famous fjords for good reason: sheer cliffs drop straight into deep blue water, with waterfalls pouring off the mountainsides at every turn. The Seven Sisters waterfall is the headline attraction, seven separate streams cascading side by side down the rock face. I hiked up to get a view of them but the fog had other ideas. It did eventually clear, and the view of the fjord itself from above was worth the wait. Even on a foggy day it's dramatic. On a clear one it must be extraordinary.

Gamle Strynefjellsvegen

The highlight of my time in the area was the Gamle Strynefjellsvegen, one of Norway's 18 National Scenic Routes. This 27-kilometre road runs between Grotli and Videsæter along the northern edge of the park, and it's a piece of history as much as a drive. Hand-built by manual labour between 1889 and 1894, the road climbs to over 1,100 metres through a landscape of rounded, ice-age-sculpted mountains, turquoise mountain tarns, and snow patches that linger well into summer.

Wildlife

The only wildlife I spotted was a group of ptarmigan in their winter coats, pure white against the snow. I only saw them because I heard them. Breheimen is home to one of Norway's largest wild reindeer populations (the Ottadalen herd uses the park as the southern part of its range), but I didn't see any. The park is also known for wolverine (my dream sighting), lynx, and white-backed woodpecker in its lower valleys, though you'd need to spend proper time on foot to have a chance of encountering them.

Who it's for

Breheimen is a park for people who want solitude and don't mind working for it. The trails are less well marked than in neighbouring Jotunheimen, the DNT huts are all unstaffed, and the terrain is demanding. It's not a beginner's park. But if you're driving between Jostedalsbreen and Jotunheimen anyway, the Gamle Strynefjellsvegen alone makes it worth slowing down. I'd like to come back and do it justice on foot. Next time.