Picking my way across a hummocky field, I shiver as I reach the edge of one of Norway's largest Viking-age graveyards. Vang, on the outskirts of Oppdal, is an undulating patchwork of nearly 900 turf-covered mounds, most dating from between 750 and 1050 CE. It's not just the proximity to the deceased that gives me goosebumps but the temperature: a cool 13C in late August. Chilly for summer sightseeing, but perfect for hiking.
I am walking the Gudbrandsdalen path, one of nine St Olav Ways that thread in from Finland, Sweden and across Norway, all converging on Trondheim where Norway's most famous medieval king, St Olav, is buried.
The path is quiet. Moss softens the stones along the route. Shafts of light pierce spruce forest; rivers run cold and clear enough to drink from them. This is pilgrimage, Nordic style. And in an era of climate extremes, it offers welcome respite from the heat of Europe's iconic pilgrim trails.
In August this year, parts of Spain's legendary Camino de Santiago sweltered at 45C. A 16-day heatwave fuelled wildfires, forcing authorities to close more than 50km of the route between Astorga and Ponferrada. Pilgrims were diverted or gave up; one walker died of heatstroke on a section of the Portuguese Coastal Way. Spanish media warned that the Camino was becoming not only overcrowded, but dangerous.
By contrast, the St Olav Ways promise what some now call a "coolcation": milder air, long daylight, and space to walk without a throng of pilgrims.
[SRC] https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250925-the-cool-camino-why-hikers-are-heading-north
