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Europe's deepest and cleanest lake Hornindalsvatnet

3 minutes to read

The deepest and cleanest lake in Europe is Hornindalsvatnet. It goes all the way to 514 m. It's located in Sogn and Fjordane county. The water is very precious and various people think it is important that we have honest information about the astonishing water. As a result, a local telephone cable company was laying their cables in the water and insisted it's 612 m deep and not 514 m as the official measuring goes.

For more amazing lakes in Europe, there's Ohrid Lake, Heart-Shaped lake, Natural Jewel Skadar Montenegro and Montenegro's Devil's Lake

One tale that is old superstition from the past is about a special stone you can see in the Grodås village. The test for the upcoming bride was to crawl through a hole that is carved in the stone. If she could crawl through she is a virgin, if she got stuck she must be pregnant. Cultural norms and Viking traces are common in this cultural area. You can experience things like these in the museums we have around the site.

Anders Svor Museum
Anders Svor Museum
Grodås, 6763 Hornindal, Norway

Since the water is the deepest in Europe, it becomes a bit perplexing about what's inside. One guy, named Andreas was hiking by Hornindalsvatnet and has pictured a Loch Ness-like creature swimming in the ocean. His explanation is that the water is deep enough for obscure monsters to move around without being detected. Does that make you want to take a dip here?

To the west, the Nordfjord is located and is connecting with Hornindalsvatnet and contributes with salt water to the lake. The salt water collects itself on the bottom while snow melted water that is not salty is on the top.

Of the most loaded highway tours for tourists go from Nordfjord to Stryn and includes Hornindalstvatnet. The road is ideal for view-lovers who are visiting Norway.

As far as staying overnight goes, you'll find hotels and camping on every side of the lake. In the village of Grodås, you have the most opportunities for experiencing the lake and here is the most centralized place for activities and hotels and lodges. The mountains rise straight from the water which means there are not so many villages around. A few cherished ones are to be discovered!

Heggjabygda church
Heggjabygda church
Fv664 6, 6770 Nordfjordeid, Norway

You can get a fishing card in one of the hotel lodges and go fish in the lake. The water is deep and as usual, there are a few select species swimming around. For fishing, you have the trout and the Hornindals monster of course.

1977 was the year a suggestion came up to throw old cars into the water. The idea is that those old broken cars are ugly and should be hidden somewhere and the lakes of Norway are a great place to put them. It's actually a common practice to put cars in the Norwegian lakes. We promote the lakes a lot, still. Just pay attention to the pictures you see are almost always taken from the outside of the water and not inside.

For now, the lake is without a saturated amount of tourists and tourist attractions. There are a few attractive things for tourists still (like the Lake). The place has held it's natural beauty in great shape and you can see that around the site is not packed with people everywhere.

You'll be able to rent a kayak and a kind of canoe to explore the lake. Multiple places have different kinds of boats that you can use.

Hornindalsvatnet
Hornindalsvatnet
W8JX+RF Heggjabygda, Norway

We have a lot of glaciers in Norway and therefore a lot of glacier streams. Hornindalsvatnet doesn't have any glacier streams pouring into the water and the cleanest lake in Europe is consequently Hornindalsvatnet. You'll see a clear and breathtaking view of a lake that's been here since the ice age and perhaps before!

Every year, there's a marathon being held called Hornindalsvatnet Marathon in the area of Hornindalsvatnet. It's called the toughest race in the north since you'll be running up mountains in the steep majestic Norwegian hills.

Hornindalsvatnet is for the hiker who is into water and likes things when they're the deepest, highest, biggest, darkest, and obscurest of experiences that our planet can provide.





The author

Kai Bonsaksen

Kai Bonsaksen

I'm Kai from Norway. I always follow that little voice in my head that tells me to go and explore new places … and on itinari, I talk about the ones I know the best!

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