Jostedalsbreen Glacier

Explore the Majestic Jostedalsbreen – Europe’s Largest Glacier

Jostedalsbreen Glacier is a truly stunning experience, it is the largest ice cap of the continental Europe, and maybe the most accessible too. A walk on the glacier with a skilled guide is highly recommended. If you are not into walking on glaciers, you can also come just to view the glaciers, and maybe visit the glacier museums. You can watch the spectacular movies of the glaciers and learn more about how the glaciers reflect the earths climate.

Jostedalsbreen Glacier – 60 Kilometers of Ice, Peaks, and Adventure

The glacier covers an area of 487 square kilometres (188 sq mi). The highest point is Høgste Breakulen at 1,957 metres (6,421 ft) above sea level. Branches of the glacier reach down into the valleys, for instance Boyabreen in Fjaerland and Nigardsbreen, both at 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. The thickest part of the glacier is 600 metres (2,000 ft). Jostedalsbreen has a length of a little more than 60 kilometres (37 mi) and it is a part of the 1,310-square-kilometre (510 sq mi) Jostedalsbreen National Park, which was established in 1991. The glacier covers over half of the national park.The glacier is maintained by the high snowfall rates in the region, not cold temperatures. This means the glacier melts in summer season when the temperatures are higher.

Jostedal glacier has around 50 branches such as Nigardsbreen glacier and Tunsbergdalsbreen glacier in Jostedal, Briksdalsbreen glacier near Olden, Boyabreen glacier in Fjaerland, Kjenndalsbreen glacier and Tindefjellbreen glacier near Loen, and Austerdalsbreen glacier in Veitastrond.

William Cecil Slingsby (1849–1929) was an English mountain climber and alpine explorer from Carleton, North Yorkshire he is considered to have been a pioneer explorer of Jostedalsbreen glacier.

Hiking to Glaciers

When you do hikes to the glaciers you always have skilled guides that can tell you how the landscape were formed by the ice and where the edge of the glacier was at different eras. The length of the hike depends on which glacier you want to visit.

Glacier tours

Hiking the glacier is performed with special glacier-guides with a high level of knowledge of where it is safe to walk and what safety equipment is required for these hikes. We never compromise with safety of our guests. Still, hikes on the glacier is not as walking on a pavement. So we recommend a certain level of physical abilities before signing up to a glacier hike.

Glacier museums

The information centers in our area is Breheimsenteret in Jostedal and the Norwegian glacier-museum in Fjærland. Norwegian glacier-museum in Fjærland is drawn by the famous architect Sverre Fehn and HM Queen Sonja took part in the official opening in 1991.

Admittance to one or both of these museums is included on request.