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| Bonded & Licenced in Ireland # TA0619 | |
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Testimonial - Ms MB, Kildare:
Hiking and Activity Holidays in Norway If you enjoy walking holidays then you're going to love Norway. Project Travel can help you organise your hiking holiday at a number of locations throughout Norway, depending on your preferences. Enjoy scenic coastal walks, mountains and glaciers, fjords, countryside or villages. Base yourself in one spot or include a hire car. The Norwegian Trekking Association has literally hundreds of well marked routes to choose from or you can join an organised tour or engage a personal hiking guide. Contact us for a free copy of Walking in Norway 2011 brochure to help you select the right walking holiday for you. For trekking through the Norwegian fjords or along a glacier or for cycling along paths or hurtling down a mountain, one of our favourite bases is Geilo and is the place we have selected for our sample packages. One of only 5 designated 'National Park Villages' in Norway, Geilo is ideally placed as a base for a walking in Norway since it is on a major railway line and most of the area around the town is mountainous wilderness. The village has Hallingskarvet National Park as a backbone and Hardangervidda, Northern Europe's largest high mountain plateau, as its nearest neighbour. Hardangervidda is a popular spot for many challenging outdoor activities. The great polar explorers Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen, both used Hardangervidda to plan and prepare their many expeditions. There is an abundance of well-marked routes for walking, hiking, cycling and in winter, cross-country skiing. Of course, if you prefer gentle walks to marathon hikes and enjoy a bit of pampering in fantastic spas, then Geilo is perfect for you too as it is also known as the Wellness Centre of Norway! Popular hiking routes
A network of roads and trails has been in existence in Geilo from early times. However, it is important to bear in mind that mountain weather can be deceptive. It is important to bring proper clothing and equipment, including a map and compass. The Norwegian Trekking Association has one of Europe's largest network of marked hiking trails (20,000 km). The routes developed in part from older thoroughfares and local footpaths and in part in response to the needs of trekkers. They serve both to guide trekkers and to protect plant and animal life by serving as limited channels for most human foot traffic in the great outdoors. All routes are clearly waymarked at intervals sufficiently short so you can see from one waymark to the next, even in fog and rain. Footpaths in the mountains are waymarked with the red letter T painted on cairns and rock walls. If you prefer, Project Travel can put you in touch with local guides to help arrange your walking tours. Cycling Holidays in Norway Geilo boasts a great variety of bicycling tours. Several biking routes meet at Geilo and the mountain roads in the local environment are well suited for shorter trips. One is the Ustedalsfjorden Tour, a cultural and scenic trail which is popular for the whole family which the Geilo-Prestholtseter Tour is also a magical experience. There is a Bike Train (a train that transports bicycles) on the Bergen Railway which runs from Oslo to Bergen and stops in Geilo. During the high season a train leaves daily from Geilo and an ideal half-day cycle tours is to take the train to Finse and cycle back to Geilo, a distance of 27 km. Explore Eventyrvegen (The Adventure Road), The Numedal Route, the mountain roads towards Prestholtseter, Tuva or around the Ustedals Fjord. More adventurous bikers can enjoy cross-country, trail biking and downhill cycling. Slightly more challenging, these routes utilise gravel and cart roads. A number of trails in Geilo are just challenging enough, without being too difficult. For more experienced mountain biking cyclists we recommend a trip to Urundberget and then to Tuftelia. Geilolia Adventure Park has a open chair lift in the summer for downhill biking. It is open each day from 26th June to 15th August, between 11am and 4pm. Choose from easy family tracks to challenging tracks for the more experienced. You can easily hire all types of bicycles in Geilo including downhill bikes and cross-country bikes. In addition you can rent saddlebag, pump, baggage cart, safety equipment and child seat. A cycling helmet is included in the price. Outdoor Activities There are many other outdoor activities in Geilo in the summer including fishing, rafting, pony trekking and even family-friendly extreme safaris where you can get up close with arctic foxes, reindeer, moose, wolf and lynx! For those interested in history and culture, there are several museums and churches to visit. At Geilolia Climbing Park you can find everything from trails for kids to challenges for people with absolutely no fear of heights. Try out trapezoids, ladders, tunnels, lianes and other exciting obstacles. At Numedalslågen there are several rafting opportunities. Choose from family rafting, extreme rafting, from normal tours to the extreme. Project Travel can arrange flights and accommodation for you in the mountain village of Geilo ranging from self-catering chalets to 5* luxury hotels and everything in between. See our sample packages suitable for everyone from solo travellers and couples to family groups and walking clubs. We include transfers from Oslo by road and/or rail and if you want to combine a visit to Oslo, the fjords and/or Bergen for a few days we can arrange that too. We can help you in planning your activities whether you want to tour by car, on foot, by boat or bike. Of course, if you want to just relax and experience some of the wonderful spas in Geilo, we can arrange that too! |
| Photo Credits: Terje Rakke, Nordic Life, Johan Wildhagen, Nancy Bundt, Innovation Norway, Marius Rua,Terje Bjornsen, Geilo Tourist Board, Project Travel | |
