Nærøy fjord:

This is considered one of the most beautiful Fjords and it is also one of the UNESCO world heritage Area. The narrow and spectacular Nærøyfjord is surrounded by steep mountains.

We had done the Cruise trip when we had visited Norway the first time. We had done it with the most popular “Norway in a Nutshell” package trip. Experience was so wonderful, we wanted to do the Ferry trip again when we stayed at Gudvangen. There were round trips between Flam and Gudvangen. One can choose whether one wants to start the roundtrip with cruise and return by bus, or vice versa. We decided to go from Gudvangen to Flam by Cruise and come back by Bus.

Initially it was a joy to sit outside and enjoy the view and weather. But as the ferry moved on, cold and chilly wind made us really feel uncomfortable. But it did bring an advantage. As the ferry was full, at times it was difficult to take photos. But, when it became really chilly, people started going inside the Covered portion of the Ferry and deck was almost empty. My camera could get unobstructed view of the Fjords and waterfalls, of course with the cost of bearing the wind and the chill.

Fjord Cruise Photos

Fjord Safari:(day 12)

Even though we did Fjord Cruise trip twice, we were not fully satisfied with our experience with Fjords. So, we ended up booking a Fjord Safari with speed Boat when we halted at Flam. They are located directly at the inner harbor at Flam center. We were provided with safety overalls, goggles and gloves.  Initially we did not realize the need for such warm clothing as it was sunny. But as the Speedboat started moving, oh god, it was Windier than it was on deck of Ferry and opening eyes without the goggles seemed because of the chill wind.

Kids wanted to sit in the first row of the speedboat and we ended up doing that. It was the Best experience we had of Fjords. When other ferries or boats come across, the waves in the Fjords increase and the front part of the speedboat starts bumping on the water. It was bit scary at times, but kids without having any sense of danger enjoyed it fully.

Boat was stopped at different attractions along the Way. Guide also told amazing stories about the cultural and traditional history of the area. They took us through the Aurlandfjord to the point where Sognefjord divides into two branches Aurlandfjord and Nærøyfjord. After stopping the boat in the middle where 3 Fjords join, guide asked us ” do you know the depth of the Fjord in this location? ” He only answered “around 500 meters”.  Knowing that the depth doesnot matter for swimming, answer did not scare me. But the ice cold water did.

Boat was also driven very near to  the beautiful waterfall Sagfossen and we got almost drenched.

At another location, the Guide suddenly took us near to the mountain where goats were grazing and stopped our boat bit away from the land. And suddenly one after the other Goat started running down the mountain towards us. Guide was explaining that, one time when they went quite near, one of the goats jumped into the boat and followed many and it was very difficult to offload them all at the end. Don’t know if it was really true.

The following picture shows house like structure on the top of the mountain.  This was a mountain farm which was accessible only via Fjord. The owner of the farm had a rope way to climb up from the fjord it seems. And whenever the Tax collector came, he used to lift up the Rope way before hand and the Tax collector was not allowed to  collect Taxes. Now this is turned into a hotel which gets booked years ahead it seems. A dream location indeed.

The colors of the mountains, reflections and overall shade of the location keeps on changing and each time we visited this location, we had different experiences. At some point one stops counting waterfalls and even taking pictures of them. Indeed it is a great Experience and worth every penny we spent for Fjord Safari.

Fjord Safari Photos