Besseggen - Iconic ridge hike in Jotenheimen National Park
About Besseggen
Besseggen is the mountain ridge located in the Jotenheimen National Park in Norway, surrounded by mountains and blue and turquoise lakes. The hike is around 14km long with over 1000m ascend. According to the official guide, it will take around 6-8 hours to complete and the season starts from early June to September/October. It is also a point to point hike, which you can choose to take the boat to Memurubu and hike back to Gjendesheim (where the tourist lodge is), or the other way around. Taking the boat first and hike back is the easier option, since (1) one do not need to worry about catching the boat back and (2) hiking or more like climbing up the steep part is easier than down.
How to get there
To hike Besseggen, one normally needs to get to Gjendesheim tourist lodge first. Most people will stay overnight either at nearby towns or at the tourist lodge the day before, so they can have an early start and enjoy the full day hike. Below are the most popular options:
1. Drive to Gjendesheim the next morning
2. Take the bus to Gjendesheim (Valdresekspressen or Øst-Vest ekspressen, depends on your location)
Depending on your hiking direction, you will either:
1. Take the boat to Memurubu and hike back to Gjendesheim
2. Start from Gjendesheim and take the boat back
Boat ticket are available both online and on site, but during peak season it is recommended to purchase beforehand. The boat service starts around second week of June and runs till early October (make sure to check the timetable beforehand before planning your trip). You can of course just take the boats for run, if hiking is not your cup of tea.
Our experience
Our small group consists of me, my partner and two friends. We rented a small cabin for the weekend in Beitostølen, which is around 35-40 minutes drive from Gjendesheim. Our initial plan was to arrive on Friday evening, full day hike on Saturday, and drive back on Sunday. However, it was pouring and storming the whole Saturday, so we postponed the hike to Sunday. Luckily, Sunday was sunny and calm with much less people, since the rain scared away the crowd.
Since we needed to drive back to Oslo right after the hike, we decided to take the very first boat and start the hike from Memurubu. This direction is recommended by most because you hike up the steep part, which is easier than going down, and there is no need to worry about catching the boat.
We started hiking around 8:30-ish and finished around 15:30. It started with a steep climb up to the ridge, followed by hours of lake and mountain view, then the long descending to the tourist cabin. There are parts on the ridge that are steep, where you will need to kind of climb up with some support from your hands. No need to worry though, there are many footholds to stand securely on and rocks to grab. It was a fun and scenic hike we enjoyed a lot and would love to do it again in the future!
It was close to the end of August when we visited Besseggen. I had a thin base layer and a fleece most of the time. On top of the ridge I added my rain jacket and buff to block some wind.
What we used and brought with us
Daypack (20-30L)
Lunch, snacks, and water
Windproof or waterproof jacket
Fleece or insulated layer
Beanie or buff
Hiking boots
Sunglasses
Camera
