Experience Fjærland
Nowhere in Norway is it as easy to get close to the glacier as in Fjærland. Bøyabreen and Supphellebreen, outlets of Jostedalsbreen, extend right down to the highway and are less than 10 km from the fjord. There is therefore a good reason why The Norwegian Glacier Museum is located in Fjærland.
Tourism in Fjærland
A little history of tourism, book town and activities
Tourists started coming here 150 years ago. Fjærland is still one of Norway's most popular destinations, with up to 300,000 tourists visiting every year. The village of Fjærland has just under 300 permanent residents and belongs to Sogndal municipality. Mundal is the center of the village, with, among other things, a church, grocery store with post office, hotel, school, tourist information and the Norwegian Book Town. The church dates from 1861 and has a beautiful altarpiece painted by Bernt Tunold.
Magnificent scenery, good hiking opportunities and an atmosphere of tranquillity are what make living in Fjærland an experience. Most of the businesses are built around tourism, which has a long tradition in Fjærland. In the past, a number of tourist ships visited the village and horse-drawn carriages transported tourists to Bøyabreen and Supphellebreen. The cruise ships are even more numerous now, but today the trips to the glacier are by bus. The hiking trail from Supphelledalen up to the Flatbrehytta cabin is the gateway for hikers to the mountain and the glacier. In addition, there are 13 other marked hiking trails in the Fjærland area, which vary from easy hikes of less than 1 hour to somewhat heavier hikes of 5-6 hours or more.
Fjærland has two beautiful wooden hotels in the center of Mundal. The venerable Hotel Mundal is one of the classic wooden hotels along the Sognefjord, with the fjord, glacier, mountains and book town as its nearest neighbors. The hotel was built in 1891. The other hotel, Fjærland Fjordstove Hotell from 1937, is idyllically located at the edge of the Fjærlandsfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord.
In Mundal you will also find the book town in Fjærland. In a dozen very original bookshops that have previously been ferry waiting rooms, barns, a bank, a freezer and a post office, there are about 200,000 used books on display at any given time. Or 4 kilometers of books for sale! The book town started in 1995 and is open from May to September. Throughout the winter, the bookstore operates a lively mail order room with its own online store. In 1996 Fjærland became the eighth book town in Europe, and the first in the Nordic region.
In Fjærland you'll find great and exciting activities on the glaciers, in mountains and on the fjord. For example, guided tours by kayak and canoe on the idyllic Fjærlandsfjord, or spectacular glacier and mountain hikes around the Fjærland area and the Jostedalsbreen glacier.
Close to the museum is Bøyum Camping, which also offers food service and bicycle rental. There is a sand volleyball court with a barbecue area, and you are welcome whether you want to stay in a cabin, tent, camper or caravan. This is Fjærland's only campsite and a great starting point for schools and other groups who are curious about activities, nature and outdoor life.
If you're looking for a more private cabin, we recommend checking Fjærland's website for all the options between the glacier and the fjord.
Climate and landscape
Fjærland has a mixture of coastal and continerntal climate with a lot of snow - in 1981 and 1994 over 2 m. The temperature in summer can reach 30ºC, and the temperature can drop to -20ºC in winter. Fjærland is a predominantly agricultural area. The soil and growing conditions are good, with large and easily managed farms in the West Norwegian style.
The landscape in Fjærland has been shaped by glaciers through several ice ages over the last 2.5-3 million years. High mountains and U-shaped valleys encircle large delta areas that are built up by sediments from the glacial river.
Parts of Fjærland lie within the boundaries of Jostedalsbreen National Park. The national park covers an area of 1310 km², with great variations within short distances, from fjords and lowlands to mountains and glaciers. Jostedalsbreen is the largest glacier on the European mainland, with Bøyabreen and Supphellebreen as its outlets in Fjærland. The lower part of Supphellebreen lies at 60 m above sea level and is the lowest-lying glacier in southern Norway. The ice in the glacier falls moves up to 2 meters per day in the summer, which is one of the fastest in Norway.
The Bøyaøyri wetland area in Fjærland is protected as a nature reserve, particularly because of the bird migration in spring and autumn. 90 different bird species have been observed, and around 50 species breed in this area.
The cultural landscape in the valleys around the glacier tells the story of settlement far back in time. Jostedalsbreen has been used as a travel route between the valleys for several hundred years. One of the most popular routes on the southern part of Jostedalsbreen was between Lunde in Jølster and Fjærland, across Marabreen glacier.
Communication
Until a few years ago, the fjord was the only communication route to the outside world. In 1986, the road between Fjærland and Skei was built, and in 1994 the road was extended to Sogndal. This means that in just a few years Fjærland has become a communications hub in Sogn og Fjordane. Express buses to/from Oslo run through Fjærland.
