Jotunheimen National Park

Norway · Europe · Visited 9 November 2025 · Established 1980

Jotunheimen means "Home of the Giants", and standing at the base of Galdhøpiggen looking up at the route ahead, you understand why. This park contains all 29 of Norway's highest peaks, including Galdhøpiggen itself at 2,469 metres, the highest point in Norway and all of Scandinavia. No trees. No shelter. Just rock, snow, ice, and sky.

I came here for one reason: to climb the highest mountain in Norway.

Galdhøpiggen

I took the Spiterstulen route, the longer of the two main approaches, starting from the lodge in Visdalen at around 1,100 metres. No guide needed, no glacier crossing, just a 1,400-metre slog upward on your own legs and your own judgement.

The terrain changes constantly. You start on a clear path through rocky ground, then hit loose gravel and scree that shifts under every step. Higher up, snowfields take over and the trail disappears beneath them. You're picking your own line through the snow, occasionally punching through thin patches into the rocks below. The final push to the summit is steep, icy, and exposed, scrambling over snow-covered boulders with the wind picking up. The whole thing demands concentration. It's not technical climbing, but it's relentless. I did the round trip in six hours, which is fast, but I wasn't hanging about.

Halfway up I fell into step with a German climber, probably in his early sixties, who was moving at a pace that genuinely surprised me. I move quickly on mountains, but I was working hard just to stay with him. We ended up climbing the rest of the way together, swapping stories about where we'd been and what we'd climbed. At the top, we took a photo for each other. It's a view that makes you feel very small and very alive at the same time.

There's a hut at the summit that serves food and hot drinks during peak season. It was closed. After a long, cold, demanding climb, a hot meal at 2,469 metres would have been the perfect reward. Instead, we got a locked door and a good laugh about it. We descended together, shared a few more stories, and went our separate ways at the bottom. One of those brief trail friendships that stays with you.

The drive south

With the summit ticked off, I needed to get to Oslo. The sensible thing would have been to find somewhere to stay and drive the next morning. Instead, buzzing with adrenaline from the climb and not remotely tired, I got in the car and drove five hours south through the evening. Not my smartest decision, but the kind you make when you've just stood on top of a country and your body hasn't caught up with what it's been through yet.

Who it's for

Jotunheimen is Norway's flagship mountain park and it earns every bit of that reputation. Galdhøpiggen is the headline, but the park has over 250 peaks above 2,000 metres, the famous Besseggen ridge, and a well-developed network of DNT huts for multi-day treks. Whether you're here for a single summit push or a week of hut-to-hut walking, this is serious mountain country. Come prepared, come fit, and come ready to be humbled.