Day 0. Friday

Arrival on Svalbard. Longyearbyen.

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Arrival in Longyearbyen by one of the day, evening, or night flights from Oslo.*

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Longyearbyen is the capital of Svalbard. It is the northernmost populated area with approximately 2000 inhabitants, 50 nationalities. Longyearbyen was founded in 1906 by John Longyear and named after him further on. This is a town with a particular temper that has been loved by adventurers, explorers, fans of the North and wilderness. 

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*You need to book a place of accommodation in Longyearbyen for this night. It is of extra cost. You can book a room in the guesthouse Russkiy dom as well. 

 

Day 1. Saturday. Longyearbyen – Pyramiden

 

- 08:30 Pick up at your hotel in Longyearbyen. Transfer to the harbor. 

 

- 09:00 Boat-cruise trip to the Pyramiden settlement (journey time is approx. 4,5-5 hours) with a stop-over near Nordenskiöld glacier (Nordenskiöldbreen). The glacier table is 100 km long and the wall strikes the imagination with its height and colors. You’ll feel its «thunder» before you reach it. 

 

- Grill-lunch is served onboard while the stop-over near the glacier. 

 

- Accommodation in the hotel Pyramiden. 

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Please note that there is no Wi-Fi and/or  MOBILE CONNECTION for guests in Pyramiden.

 

- Guided tour around the settlement. 

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Pyramiden is a settlement situated at the bottom of the mountain and was named after it. It was founded in 1911. It's a town located in between mountains, the huge glacier and moraine. In 1946 coal deposits started being opened up and in the 1970s-1980s a perfect socialism model system was built. In 1998 Pyramiden was frozen (preserved) but its infrastructure arranged in the Soviet period has come down to us. Anyone who has spent in Pyramiden at least a couple of hours makes a point in this place's uniqueness. Today the town is open and it grows as a tourist location. A boiler house, hotel, restaurant and film stock cinema have been renovated. Pyramiden attracts not only tourists but also film directors, journalists, free riders and bloggers from all over the world.

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- Movie show in the film stock cinema.

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A blacken-out cinema hall and sounds of an old cine-projector dig the audience into the atmosphere of the past century. As of now, there have been two film stock projectors renovated and the number of cine films has reached around 2000 items. Although it had seemed impossible a couple of years ago, in autumn, 2018 the first movie show was arranged.

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- Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

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- Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden.

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Day 2. Sunday. Hiking tour to Yggdrasilkampen

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- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

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- Hiking tour to Yggdrasilkampen

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Table Mountain is the second name of Yggdrasilkampen Mountain given to it by the residents of Pyramiden settlement for its wide plateau on steep walls, flat as a table. 
The original name of the mountain, which can be found on maps, derives from the name of the World Tree or Tree of Life. Norsemen envisioned the universe as the Tree of Life. 
On the descent, the route crosses the summit plateau and enters the glacier Jotunfonna. The glacier was named after the giants in Norse mythology. Norsemen believed that the giants lived on the cold stone edges of the earth and were the predecessors of the gods and people. You walk on the glacier along the meltwater streams that come through the ice. 
The glacier ends with an observation point on the Blue lake. 

The tour start and end is the hotel.

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Field lunch is included.
Route length: 13-16 km
Duration: 6-8 hours
 

- Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

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- Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden.

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Day 3. Monday. Hiking tour Odinfjellet – Odindalen

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- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

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- Hiking tour Odinfjellet – Odindalen.

A simple route includes the path to the picturesque summit of Odin mountain or Odinfjellet in Norwegian. Mountain was named after the Norse god Odin. You will see ancient fossils, cross the glacier, and look from the cliff on the 40-meter waterfall Sjursethfossen. We will have lunch on a scenic part of the route. 
The tour starts from Goose Lakes - a source of fresh water for the Pyramiden settlement. The lakes are remarkable for their system of maintaining the permafrost.

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Field lunch is included.
Route length: 17-22 km
Duration: 7-9 hours

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- Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

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- Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden.

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Day 4. Tuesday. Hiking tour to Petunia Bay

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- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

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- Hiking tour to Petunia Bay

A 10 km walk to Petunia Bay is an excellent way to get acquainted with the surroundings of the legendary mine.
The tour starts at the hotel. We pass the former coal storage and enter the serpentine road with a view to the port and a frozen conveyor belt of the coal loading system. Step by step, a panorama of the harbor, consisting of Mimer, Petunia and Adolf bays opens up. On the opposite shore of the harbor, you see the wall of the majestic Nordenskiöld glacier. Above it, the Lomonosovfonna glacial plateau merges with the sky. The turning point of the route is a house, which, until recently, served to scientists. Next to it, almost at the edge of the sea, three metal towers, used for oil exploration, look into the sky. We make a stop near the house, relax and have some tea. If the tide is low, we will be able to walk right along the coastline on our way back.

Route length: 10 km
Duration: 3- 4 hours

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- Lunch in the hotel restaurant.

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- Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

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- Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden.

 

Day 5. Wednesday. Hiking tour to Pyramiden Mountain

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- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

- Hiking tour to Pyramiden Mountain

Radial exit with the ascent of Pyramiden Mountain (937 m), at the foot of which the settlement of the same name is located.
We start our tour from the hotel. After 1 km hiking, we climb up the slope with spectacular views on the settlement from one side and to the Billiefjord Bay and Nordenskiöld glacier on the other. 
The further path goes straight along the ridge on large stones and on a steep scree through the rocky ledges. For your ease metal stairs have been installed in two spots. If there are no low clouds (which is quite often) you will see a panoramic view of 360 degrees from the top. Regardless of the weather conditions, you can write your name and impressions in the summit’s logbook kept here in an iron safe. Here, at the top, we will spend some time, relax and head back after a well-deserved picnic.

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Field lunch is included.

Route length: 10 km
Duration: 5-7 hours (depending on the pace and physical conditions of the group in whole) 
 

- Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

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- Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden.

 

Day 6. Thursday. Hiking tour to the sign “Miru Mir”.

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- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

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Hiking tour to the sign “Miru Mir”.
Follow the Soviet mines’ route to work. On the mountain slope you will see galleries which served as the aboveground structures of the mine as well as the legendary sign “Miru Mir” or “peace to the world” in English. 
The tour starts from the hotel. The route goes towards the technical part of the Pyramiden settlement and runs through the covered people’s gallery to the waiting station. Here you will see the old railway terminal. Further, the path leads right to the mine entrance. Up here you will have a chance to take a look at the external mine constructions and have a rest after that. The next part of the route is the ascent to the top of the ridge, which offers panoramic views over the entire Pyramiden settlement, the Mimerdalen valley and the Bertilbreen glacier. On the narrow ridge, you can feel the wind blowing from the glaciers.
On request it is possible to visit a satellite communications platform with antennas and equipment.
The route has a long ascent and a rather steep descent.

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Route length: 4-6 km
Duration: 3-4 hours

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- Lunch in the hotel restaurant.

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- Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

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- Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden.

 

Day 7. Friday. Trekking tour to Tarantellen mountain.

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- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

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- Trekking tour to Tarantellen mountain.

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We start from the hotel and walk to the end of the Petuniabukta

The short but intense hike starts at the base of the mountain cirque. The mountain cirque is a landform, natural bowl-shaped valley in mountainsides near the summit. From there the route climbs to a rock which looks like a spider. The rock is a natural arch that was formed as a result of weathering. 
You approach the rock through the narrow valley with a splendid view to the mountain arch and panorama which are not accessible on other routes. 
 
The tour starts from the hotel and takes all day. 

For experienced travelers only. 

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Field lunch is included.
Route length: 25-35 km
Duration:11-13 hours

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Day 8. Saturday. Pyramiden - Longyearbyen.

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- Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

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- You will have time to visit the souvenir shop with one of the northernmost Norwegian post offices where you can send a postcard to your nearest and dearest from the 78’40 Northern latitude.

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- Lunch in the hotel restaurant.

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- Return to Longyearbyen.

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​- Arrival in Longyearbyen​

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Approx time of arrival in Longyearbyen is at around 20:00.​

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- Transfer to the place of your accommodation in Longyearbyen

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Day 9. Sunday. Departure to the Mainland