Fjaerlandsfjord

The Fjaerlandsfjord runs about twenty-six kilometres north from the Sognefjord, narrow, steep-sided and coloured a strong milky green by glacial meltwater, ending at the village of Fjaerland under the southern edge of Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier on mainland Europe. Two of its arms, Boyabreen and Supphellebreen, hang visibly above the valley floor within sight of the road. Fjaerland was reachable only by boat until a tunnel opened in 1986, and the village turned that isolation into a niche: since 1995 it has been the Norwegian Book Town, with secondhand bookshops in old barns, ferry sheds and stables, several unstaffed with an honesty box. The Norwegian Glacier Museum stands at the village edge.

What you actually see

• The green water - meltwater colouring the whole fjord milky jade.
• The hanging glaciers - Boyabreen and Supphellebreen above the valley.
• The book town - secondhand bookshops in barns and boathouses.
• The Glacier Museum - an exhibition on ice, climate and the Jostedalsbreen.

When to go

May to September; the bookshops open roughly from May to September and the summer boat from Balestrand runs in the same window. Glacier arms are most visible without cloud in early summer.

Honest expectations

The village is tiny with limited eating options and accommodation that books up. Many bookshops are seasonal and some are unstaffed. The glaciers have retreated markedly in recent decades, and the fronts are further from the road than older photographs suggest.

Nearby

Balestrand lies across the Sognefjord; Jostedalsbreen National Park and Sogndal are inland.