Munkebu Hut Hike

The hike to the Munkebu Hut is one of the best hikes in Lofoten. As you can see I was extremely lucky with the weather as indeed I was for most of my stay in Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja. My hotel was in Leknes, which is about an hour's drive from the trailhead in Sørvågen, itself ten minutes or so from Reine. I had originally planned to try and make my way up to Hermansdallstinden and to see how far I would get. However, for that I would have needed to stay in Reine.

I also lost precious time on the way up, because rather stupidly I managed to take the wrong trail on three occasions. There are several huts near the lake at the start of the trail and it is easy to make the wrong choice. Later on I met two hikers from Norway who recommended downloading the app from ut.no, which has all the trails, but unfortunately is available in Norwegian only. It proved very helpful on subsequent hikes, though, because it shows exactly where you are and where the trail is or leads.

The Munkebu Hut is situated in a stunning alpine landscape. Along the way there are lakes, fjords, mountains and sea views.

Hermannsdalstinden is the high mountain to the left in the photo above. The trail actually leads along the ridge in the foreground and then continues along the ridge in the middle of the photo. So in the photo it's left, right, left and straight ahead. It's possible to do it in a day, but you need to get a very early start, which means staying in or near Reine.

The area around the Munkebu hut is Lofoten at its finest and most spectacular.

It is possible to stay at the Munkebu hut, but you need to get a key from the tourist office. I met some people on the way who were going to camp near the hut before making a push to the summit of Hermannsdalstinden.

More Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja! The awesome hike to the top of Møysalen and Matmora. And of course Reine.

More Norway! Amazing Jotunheimen National Park, Mount Skåla, Romsdalseggen, Svellnosbreen, Nigardsbreen, Dalsnibba. Yet more Norway.