JULY 31 - AUGUST 7 - THE LYSEFJORD CIRCUIT, HUT-TO-HUT IN NORWAY

Lysefjord is one of the most beautiful places in Norway. Its huge granite cliff face reflects the light unusually more than its neighbours which is how it earned its name, meaning the light fjord.

Nights: 7 - Accommodation: Mountain Cabins, Guesthouse & Hotel
Cost: £619

Our plan is to complete a full lap of the Fjord on The Lysefjorden Rundt Trail in 6 hiking days. The trail is 52 miles and has almost 6000m of ascent, staying in a mixture of mountain cabins and hostels along the way. This is a very challenging trail, not due to distance but because it involves alot of very steep up and down on slippery, exposed trails often aided with cables so you must have confident footwork and a good head for heights to the join this trip.

There are so many highlights on this stunning tour of the fjord. As well as the incredible Norwegian views and landscapes, we will see;

• Pulpit rock or Preikestolen, a vertigo inducing cliff top plateau 600m above the water
• The hanging boulder of Kjeragbolten
• The 4444 steps of the Florli staircase, the longest wooden staircase in the world
• The infinity pool of Fantapytten, where the brave can take a plunge!

ITINERARY

Arrival Day - Fly into Stavanger and check into our hotel.
Day 1 - 12.5kms, transfer 1.15hr to the trail-head and hike to the fjordside hostel at Florli
Day 2 - 18.5kms, 1600m ascent. From Florli to the self- service Langavatn mountain hut via the Kjerag plateau including the 4444 steps
Day 3 - 12.5kms to the top of the Oygardsstolen zig zags past the famous hanging boulder. Accommodation in the village at the Lysebotn lodge.
Day 4 - 20 kms. Transfer to the road end then hike to the unserviced Bakken Gard Hut. This is a long day and finishes with some basic scrambling aided with cables.
Day 5 - 15 kms and 1500m ascent & descent. A narrow and exposed trail undulating heavily. Accomodation at the renovated Priekestolen basecamp hostel.
Day 6 - 9 kms to our finish at Høllesliheia via the infinity pool of Fantapytten. Transfer 45 mins back to Stavanger back to the comfort of our hotel
Departure day - Catch a flight home or travel onwards to keep the adventure going in Scandanvia

This is not the Norwegian wilderness, the Lysefjorden Rundt connects popular sights and beauty spots where we will be sharing the trail with plenty of others. The privilege as a hiker, however, is to walk the stunning trails in between the busy areas, over the rugged hill tops to the mountain cabins where we will leave the tourists behind.

ACCOMMODATION

In Stavanger we have booked comfortable twin hotel rooms and in Lysebotn, Florli and Preikestolen we will be in hostel type accommodation with restaurants at our accommodation or nearby.

The Langavatn hut is a 'self-service' cabin, which means they have an unstaffed food store where we can buy provisions but we will need to cook them ourselves.

The Bakken Gard hut is 'unserviced' which means we will have to carry in our food for that nights dinner which can be purchased the day before. There is a fully equipped kitchen for us to use.

We will need to bring a sleeping bag liner for use at all the huts, duvets are pillows are provided but no bed linen.

Please note that although we always try to allocate seperate male and female dorms, due to the mixture of accommodation that this trip requires it will not always be possible.

DIFFICULTY

There are two main challenges on this trail, the vertigo and the ascent. There are some steep and exposed sections on the trail so if you don't have a good head for heights then this trip is not for you. We also need to be prepared for lots of up and down on steep trails, our biggest day has 3000m of elevation change. We will also need to carry our clothes and toiletries with us on the trail as luggage transfer is not possible.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

• 6 days of guided hiking on the Lysefjord Rundt
• 2 nights shared twin room hotel accommodation in Stavanger
• 2 breakfasts at our hotel
• 5 nights accommodation in mountain huts or hostels in shared dorms
• Financial protection in accordance with package travel regulations

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED

• Flights
• Travel Insurance
• Meals
• Bus transfers in and out of Lysebotn (approx £18pp for each bus)
• Taxi transfers from Stavanger to the start of the hike and back from the end point - I will organise these and let people know a rough cost closer to the time.
• Luggage transfer (not possible on this trail)

TRAVEL TO STAVANGER

Saturday is the only day without direct flights from the UK to Stavanger so this trip will start and finish on Friday. Here are the recommended flights. If you would like to book alternative flights please make sure to be in Stavanger on Friday 31 July. We will be back in Stavanger at around 18.00pm on the 6th August.

Outbound - Friday 31 July
Norwegian DY1335
Departs London Gatwick 10:30
Arrives Stavanger 13:10

Return - Friday 7 August
Norwegian DY1334
Departs Stavanger 08.45
Arrives London Gatwick 09:50

HOW TO BOOK

To confirm your place on this trip use internet banking. Please use NORWAY2 as your payment reference. The account details are:

Account Name: BACKABUSH XPLORERS
Sort Code: 090127
Account Number: 22440622

The following "terms and conditions" apply to all trip reservations:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ngc5A61k76qb6HGMeTK96AVaXn0565yPS9p42IPzIy8/

Only payment secures your place. Your RSVP is not sufficient for us to hold a place for you. Please email nathancapay@googlemail.com as soon as you send payment so that we can confirm everything with you. Thanks. :)