Norway is a place that defies the ordinary. It’s not just the dramatic fjords or the fairytale fishing villages that captivate the soul—it’s the feeling of standing alone on a mountain ridge, gazing across an endless expanse of wild, unspoiled nature. During my most recent trip to Norway, I made it my mission to explore its national parks. Each park is a world unto itself, offering a different blend of towering peaks, crystal-clear lakes, frozen tundra, and raw Arctic beauty.
What follows is a personal journey through five of Norway’s most breathtaking national parks, places that reminded me what it means to breathe deeply, walk slowly, and lose track of time entirely.
1. Jotunheimen National Park – The Home of the Giants
I began my journey in Jotunheimen, Norway’s highest mountain range and a hiker’s paradise. The name literally means “Home of the Giants”, and it lives up to the myth. I took a route that began near the village of Lom, gradually ascending through a trail flanked by snow-dusted birch trees and frozen streams.
The centerpiece of this park is Galdhøpiggen, Norway’s tallest peak, which rises to 2,469 meters. While I didn’t make the summit this time due to icy conditions, I hiked to one of the ridges overlooking the Bessvatnet Lake, a stunning glacial body of water whose deep turquoise color seemed to glow even beneath the overcast sky.
The silence in Jotunheimen is profound. There were moments on the trail when all I could hear was the crunch of my boots in the snow and the wind whispering through the valley. This park is both humbling and empowering—a place where nature truly rules.
2. Rondane National Park – A Landscape of Stoic Beauty
Next, I made my way to Rondane National Park, one of Norway’s oldest protected areas. The park is less dramatic than Jotunheimen but no less beautiful. It has a quiet, understated grandeur that seeps into you slowly.
I stayed at a rustic cabin near Spranget, a popular starting point for hikes into the park. The terrain was gentler here, a rolling expanse of tundra and low-lying peaks. The Rondane massif, with its distinctive rounded peaks, reminded me of ancient sleeping giants.
What I loved most about Rondane was the solitude. I spent hours trekking along the trail to Rondvassbu, the main lodge in the area, passing frozen lakes and icy rivers. I even caught sight of a herd of wild reindeer—dozens of them standing motionless against the snow, blending into the landscape like ghosts.
Unlike the vertical drama of other parks, Rondane offers a contemplative journey. It’s perfect for hikers who want space to think, breathe, and reconnect with a slower rhythm of life.
3. Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park – The Kingdom of the Musk Ox
If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing a musk ox in the wild, Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park is the place. This park, located further north, is one of the few places in Europe where you can find these prehistoric animals roaming freely. And yes—I was lucky enough to see them.
I joined a local guide for a musk ox tracking hike near Hjerkinn, a tiny village perched at the edge of the park. The hike was not difficult, but we needed patience and binoculars. After about an hour of walking across a frosted plateau, our guide pointed to a ridge in the distance. There they were: a small group of musk oxen, shaggy and massive, grazing in slow motion.
Being in their presence was surreal. They looked like they had walked straight out of the Ice Age. The guide told us to stay at least 200 meters away—these animals can charge if threatened—but I was perfectly content to watch from afar, heart pounding, lens fogging up from the cold.
Beyond the wildlife, Dovrefjell is stark and majestic. The wind here bites harder, the landscape is more open and exposed. But it’s also alive with geological wonders: deep valleys, glacial scars, and ancient stone formations shaped over millennia.
4. Hardangervidda National Park – Nordic Wilderness at its Purest
When I arrived in Hardangervidda, I felt like I’d stepped onto a different planet. This is Northern Europe’s largest mountain plateau, and everything here is vast—vast skies, vast plains, and vast silence. It’s the perfect place to feel completely untethered from modern life.
I strapped on a pair of snowshoes and headed out from Finse, a remote outpost accessible only by train. The journey across the plateau was challenging, especially with snow blanketing every visible trail, but that only added to the sense of adventure. The terrain is mostly flat, but the views go on forever—white-on-white horizons with the occasional mountain poking through like a dark fin.
One of the highlights was reaching a remote cabin near the Blåisen Glacier, where I spent the night with nothing but a wood stove and a flickering candle for company. There’s something incredibly calming about being so far from everything. I wrote in my journal, read by firelight, and fell asleep listening to the wind howl across the plateau.
Hardangervidda is also home to Europe’s largest population of wild reindeer, though I didn’t spot any on this trip. Still, the knowledge that they were out there—somewhere in the white expanse—made the experience all the more magical.
5. Reisa National Park – Waterfalls, Canyons, and Arctic Light
Last but certainly not least, I ventured into Reisa National Park, tucked away in Northern Norway, just above the Arctic Circle. This park is less known among international travelers, which makes it feel like a well-kept secret.
Reisa is defined by its dramatic river canyon, Reisadalen, which cuts through the landscape like a great open wound. The Mollisfossen Waterfall, one of Norway’s tallest at 269 meters, was partially frozen when I saw it, with long icicles forming eerie chandeliers along its edges. The sound of the falling water, crashing against the rocks below, echoed through the canyon.
Unlike the other parks, Reisa has more vertical drama—cliffs, gorges, and forests clinging to the canyon’s edge. I followed a trail that winds along the river, offering panoramic views of the frozen falls and the snaking waterway far below. In some places, the path narrowed to a ledge no wider than a footstep, but the adrenaline rush was worth it.
Because of its Arctic location, Reisa is a prime place for spotting the Northern Lights, and I was lucky—one night, just after dinner, I looked up and saw them dancing across the sky. Green waves, flickering and alive, like something from a dream.
Exploring these five national parks reminded me why I travel—not for the photos, the passport stamps, or the ability to say “I’ve been there,” but for something much deeper. I travel for the feeling—that quiet, unmistakable sense of awe that settles in your chest when you realize just how vast, ancient, and breathtakingly beautiful this world truly is. It’s a feeling that no photo can quite capture and no itinerary can guarantee. It’s something that sneaks up on you in the stillness of a snowy plateau or while watching the last light fade behind a glacier.
Each of these Norwegian national parks has its own voice, its own rhythm, and its own story to tell. Jotunheimen, with its towering peaks and mighty glaciers, is a paradise for the summit-seekers—the ones who chase heights and revel in the thin air of the mountains. There, I felt both humbled and empowered, standing beneath cliffs that seemed to pierce the clouds.
Rondane, by contrast, speaks to the soul in a quieter language. Its rolling hills and muted colors offer a kind of inner stillness, the perfect companion for solitude-lovers and thoughtful wanderers. It’s a place where time feels slower, and your own thoughts seem to echo across the silent landscape.
Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella brings you face to face with the past. There’s something profoundly moving about seeing a musk ox on the horizon—an ancient creature unchanged by time. In that moment, I felt like a witness to something primordial, a reminder of the wildness we so often forget.
Hardangervidda stripped everything down to its essence. Just sky, snow, and endless silence. Hiking across its frozen plains felt like traveling through the pages of a storybook written by wind and ice. It challenged me physically, but rewarded me with a sense of clarity that only comes when everything else is stripped away.
And then there’s Reisa—wild, vertical, and touched by Arctic magic. The way the river carves through the canyon, the sound of waterfalls echoing off the cliffs, and the green shimmer of the Northern Lights overhead—it felt like stepping into a dream I never wanted to wake from.
If you’re looking for a destination that blends adventure with serenity, that rewards the curious and renews the spirit, Norway’s national parks are waiting. They’re not just places to visit—they’re places to feel. So lace up your boots, breathe in that crisp, icy air, and take the first step into the wild. Trust me, you’ll never forget it.
