Backpacking in Norway: Finse to Aurlandsdalen

Do you ever have those moments in the outdoors you can’t help but laugh in disbelief of the view you’re taking in? Where you blink thinking what you’re looking at couldn’t possibly be real? For me, that was hiking through the Aurlandsdalen Valley.

Logistics & Trip Overview

Unlike those cooking blogs where you have to scroll through 10 minutes of narrative before you get to the recipe, I will provide the how and where right up front. Links to all mentioned locations will be provided in order.

Time of Year: DNT Association recommends to do this route between June & September.

Total Duration: 5 or 6 days total - 3 (Possibly 4) days of hiking with a travel day on either side.

Length & Elevation Variation: ~34 miles with roughly 5,300’ of gain and 8,900’ of drop.

Route Type: One Way

Bus - Skyss - Skyss.no - Bergen Lufthavn to Bergen Sentrum

Bag Storage (if applicable) - Radical Storage - radicalstorage.com

Train 1 - Vy - Vy.no - Bergen Stasjon to Finse Stasjon

Night 1 - Finsehytta - https://www.dnt.no/hytter/betjente/finsehytta/english/

Night 2 - Geiterygghytta - https://www.dnt.no/hytter/betjente/geiterygghytta/english/

Night 3 (Night 4 Alternate) - Aurlandsdalen Turisthytte - https://www.dnt.no/hytter/betjente/aurlandsdalen-turisthytte/english/

Night 3 Alternate - Steinbergdalshytta - https://www.steinbergdalshytta.no/en/welcome

Train 2 - Vy - Vy.no - Flåm Stasjon to Bergen Stasjon

Day 1: Bergen to Finsehytta (Travel Day)

If you’ve made it this far, now begins my daily breakdown of the route, with pictures! To kick this off, you need to fly into Bergen Airport (Bergen Lufthavn) and take either the Bergen Light Rail (Bybanen) or the Airport Bus (Flybussen) to Festplassen in Bergen. You can use either the Skyss website or download their app on your phone to assist with bus timetables and alternate drop off locations in Bergen if you so decide. We planned to spend time in Bergen after our trip, so we used a company called Radical Storage to store our other bags in the city while we hiked this route.

Once you’re in Bergen and have situated your luggage, you will head to Bergen Stasjon (Stasjon = Station) to take the train from there to Finse Stasjon. To book your train tickets, you can use the Vy website or mobile app, but I recommend booking your train tickets as far ahead of time as possible, why stress?

Once you arrive in Finse, it is only a 8 minute walk to the first DNT hut you will stay at, DNT Finsehytta. Go check in and buy a beer from their microbrewery on site or a glass of wine while you enjoy this beautiful hut and overlook the 6th largest glacier in Norway, Hardangerjøkulen. I recommend renting the bedding when you book your stay at each hut for one less thing to carry on your journey. Make sure you check sign the guestbook while you’re there!

You will have two different time slots to eat dinner depending on your arrival. Regardless of when you do eat dinner, it will be a hearty three course meal to fuel you up. Since we arrived on a Thursday night, we were served the traditional komle which are a sort of potato dumpling.

Day 2: Finsehytta to Geiterygghytta (Hike Day 1)

After finishing the provided breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, oatmeal, orange juice, and some other things I don’t remember, you also have the opportunity to make a 2 sandwiches with lunch meat made available during breakfast. Make sure you do, because your first day of hiking will be ~10.2 miles towards Geiterygghytta, and you’ll want the energy!

This day will take you up further into the mountains with 1,931’ of gain and 1,858’ of drop, and a maximum elevation of 5,414’ above sea level so flatlanders beware! We hiked this in the middle of July and had multiple snow crossings which we completed without micro-spikes, but be prepared for variable conditions. There are plenty of water sources along the entire route, and if you want the true Norwegian experience, you can fill up your bottle straight from the stream! We were not that brave.

Once you arrive and check in at Geiterygghytta, I personally recommend taking a dip in the Geiteryggvatnet lake to relax the muscles and give yourself a mini heart attack with how cold the water is. Alternatively, you can book a time slot in the wood-fired outdoor hot tub they have on site and jump in the lake after.

Day 3: Geiterygghytta to Aurlandsdalen Turisthytte (Hike Day 2)

Following the same breakfast arrangement you had at Finsehytta, you have two different options for how your second day of hiking will look. Option A is to hike all the way to the Aurlandsalen Turisthytte which is about 13.9 miles with 2,423’ of gain and 3,703’ of drop. You will pass the Steinbergdalshytta at about the halfway point of this day where you can buy lunch. The trail conditions after this hut get very technical and rocky with a lot of up/down so beware. Arriving at the Aurlandsdalen Turisthytte for dinner and a well deserved beer will feel like heaven.

Option B is to split the mileage roughly in half and spend your second night on trail at the Steinbergdalshytta. This is a privately operated hut and not run by the DNT, and I unfortunately cannot provide any commentary on their accommodations as we did not stay there. If we were to do this trip again, I would have broken up the mileage and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings that these huts are located in.

Very important item to note here, if you desire to carry a lighter pack to the Aurlandsdalen Turisthytte, there is a service at Geiterygghytta where they will transport your bag to the next hut. We found this out at mile 10 after trekking with our 40lb bags, but it’s up to you to choose your own adventure.

Day 4: Aurlandsdalen Turisthytte to Vassbygdi (Hike Day 3)

I cannot tell you what you’ll find on this day of the hike, only what your destination will be. We were doing this trek as part of our honeymoon, and after 24 miles in 2 days, we decided to take the bus from the Aurlandsfalen Turishytte to Flåm where we had planned to camp for two nights following the conclusion of this route.

The endpoint is essentially at a bus stop , and this bus has limited departure times, so make sure you give yourself enough time to hike there! I would recommend taking the bus to Flåm to visit the historic fjord before taking a train back to Bergen Stasjon. Like before, tickets can be purchased through Vy, and the ride back to Bergen was absolutely jaw dropping. Just be cautious as you gaze out the window, you might be lured in by a Huldra.

Ending Notes

This was without a doubt one of the most challenging but rewarding backpacking trips we’ve ever attempted and an absolute labor of love. For the stat trackers, we covered ~24 miles with 4,354’ of gain and 5561’ of drop in just the first two days. We encountered multiple steep snow patches that we considered glissading down and some unexpectedly technical terrain while being rewarded with world class views of waterfalls and the epic landscape that the interior of Norway has to offer, and each night we got to experience a different Den Norske Turistforening (DNT) hut, or hytta for the locals. There are so many places in the world we want to visit and have a loose “rule” about going to the same place twice, however coming back to the Aurlandsdalen Valley is the first mutually agreed exception to that rule.