This is a great day walk in the footsteps of Fridtjof Nansen, the famous polar explorer, who used to hunt in this area some 100 years ago. The ‘hotel’ is just a sheltered spot under a rocky face where Nansen and his fellow hunters would rest for the night, and not much to write home about, but the nearby lake makes for a good picnic spot before you head back on the return leg of your trip. You will feel like you’re really venturing into the wilderness on this walk, which is quite exciting, but you should make sure you have appropriate footwear (and pack enough water and mosquito repellent) before you set off. Allow about 5 hours to get there an back, with a short pause half-way.

The terrain is varied, ranging from pine trees and carpets of blueberry bushes to bog and green conifer forest, and peppered with little lakes, making for a pleasant walk. The path, which is quite narrow in places and from time to time disappears under lush wild grass, is marked all the way, but not used all that often. Finding the blue spots to follow can be a bit tricky as a result, as the paint has peeled off some of the trees. When this has happened keep going straight and just look for the next blue spot. We only struggled twice to find our way – when we reached the little forest road, about one-third in (you have to follow the dust road to the right for about 50m before finding the path again on the other side, skirting the bog) and again about two-thirds in, when the path seemed to have all but disappeared, and we found white marks, instead of blue ones, going down to a little lake on our right. We continued straight for a few minutes, and found our path again, slightly to the left, after about 50m.

How to get there: From Halden follow signs for Tistedal, and then continue on Rv21 along Femsjøen (the big lake on your left). You will pass the crossing for Brekke Sluser (locks). Continue on Rv21 for about 4.5km, and you will see a sign for Fridtjof Nansen’s Hotel on your right, a couple of km before Store Ertevatn (another, smaller lake), where Rv21 goes to the left towards Aremark.