Kjenndalsbreen: into the wild

Because this glacier (and actually all other glaciers in the area) isn’t as emphasized in touristic brochures as the Briksdalsbreen, my expectations were really low. And that’s also why there were barely any other people (while at the Briksdalsbreen – remember the 12 busses).

I had to reconsider my opinion: tourists don’t get here easily because the road is narrow and winding alongside the lake, and because the hike to the glacier is not quite spectacular and you cannot get really far into the glacier’s valley. But o my, are they missing out on something!

The toll road, first paved but afterwards full of holes, finding its way to the end of the valley; our gps gave up sometime before the end of the road. Keep going until you arrive at a small parking lot. From there it’s a 15 minute hike in the company of small, young trees, rocks and the raging glacier river, until you are stopped by a warning plate.

You cannot see the Kjenndalsbreen from the valley; it is only at the end of the valley when crossing the river you get to see him for the first time. An impressive first time, with his three tongues and water coming down from the mountains everywhere.

Because another group of people ignored the warning signs, and there were no fences closing off the road like at the Briksdalsbreen, we followed them up the slope, until we reached a protruding rock with an amazing view on the glacier. Unfortunately photo’s do not even get close to reality so you will have to go there and see it for yourself (and hurry, before everything melted away). I stayed there on that rock to stare, just stare at all the beauty around us…

On the way back down the slope, I saw a path closer to the river going into the glacier’s direction. My compagnon was not at ease, because the warning signs were not there for amusement, were they? And the cell reception was zero… But it turned out to be a regular mountain path, and the big dark rocks looked solid enough, they would stay where they were! We crossed way more dangerous rockslides in Switzerland… Too bad the Norwegians don’t seem to care a lot about maintaining their hiking network.

Although I understood why, when we reached the definite end of the road: the valley behind us, once carved by the powerful, now retreated glacier, was so unreal, intact, untouched, without any human intervention. (In Switzerland there would be tons of chairlifts and cable cars and hiking paths…)

I could have stayed there for hours, just watching, but we saw the last visitors leaving for the parking lot and did not feel at ease staying behind with dead phones and threatening rocks, so we walked back quickly to legal grounds.

By far the most beautiful glacier visit during our holiday…

Short

Easy, short walk, but you cannot get close to the glacier (unless at your own risk, and it was that ‘forbidden’ path that made our visit so special because the view on the glacier’s valley is so amazing). The drive alongside the lake is a fun bonus.

Practicals

Distance: a short hour drive from Stryn – north side of the Jostedalsbreen.
GPS: ‘Kjenndalsbreen’.
Parking: at the end of the road.
Toll road: 40 NOK (cash only). When we were there, there were no tickets available so we passed without paying.
Walking time: 30 min there and back again (2km, flat terrain) – forbidden pathway alongside the river (at your own risk): 1km extra, a little bit of up & down.