Skjolden and the Lustrafjord, at the far end of the Sognefjord

Most fjord cruises see the Sognefjord. Fewer see the end of it. The fjord is Norway's longest and deepest, and from its mouth on the coast to its innermost point is a sail of some two hundred kilometres, past the side arms that branch off it to Fjærland, Aurland and Lærdal. The northernmost of those arms, the Lustrafjord, runs for about forty kilometres more, narrowing between mountains, and at its very end, where the river comes down out of the high country and the salt water gives up, is the village of Skjolden.

It is a small place: a scatter of houses, a hotel, a church, a quay and a river flat at the head of the fjord, with mountains on every side. A large cruise ship tied up here dwarfs the village, and on a call day it can feel as though the ship has brought more people than live in the whole valley. That is not a reason to stay on board. It is a reason to go a little way along the shore, where it is quiet again almost at once.

The long sail in

The pleasure of Skjolden starts long before the ship arrives. The day begins on the broad, dark main body of the Sognefjord, a great deep trench with mountains rising straight from the water and little farms clinging to ledges above it. Then the ship turns north into the Lustrafjord, and the character of the place changes. The fjord is narrower and gentler, the slopes are greener, and there are orchards, villages and churches along its shores. Waterfalls come down the cliffs on either side, especially in late spring, when the snow above is melting.

The one most people watch for is Feigefossen, on the east side of the fjord south of Skjolden, which falls in a long white ribbon down the mountainside from high above the water. It is usually put at around two hundred and eighteen metres, and it is described as one of Norway's highest waterfalls not harnessed for hydroelectric power. From the road at its foot a path climbs to its base in about half an hour, for those with a car or a tour.

Across the fjord from it, on a green promontory on the western shore, stands Urnes Stave Church, the oldest of Norway's surviving wooden stave churches and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its north wall and portal, reused from an older church on the same site, carry carving so fine and tangled with animals and tendrils that it gave its name to the last of the Viking-age styles of decoration, the Urnes style. The church is reached by ferry from Solvorn, further down the fjord, rather than from Skjolden itself, so from a cruise it is usually seen from the deck, as a small dark church in a meadow above the water.

Where the fjord stops

At Skjolden the fjord ends and the mountains begin. Behind the village the valley climbs towards the Jotunheimen, the great mountain massif of central Norway, and the road over the Sognefjell climbs up past lakes and glaciers into the high plateau. On a call day the coach excursions tend to go that way, and on a clear day, with snow still lying on the tops, it is a dramatic drive.

For those staying on foot, Skjolden has enough. There are walks along the river and the shore, a short climb above the village for the view back down the fjord, and the colour of the water to look at: the meltwater from the glaciers above carries fine rock flour into the fjord and gives it, near the head, a milky green that looks almost painted. It is the kind of place where an hour on a bench by the water is time well spent.

Cruises that go there

Three Fred. Olsen cruises from British ports include Skjolden and the Lustrafjord, all of them in the early summer, when the waterfalls are at their fullest and the evenings are long.

The eight-night Scenic Highlights of the Norwegian Fjords sails from Newcastle in May. It takes in the Lysefjord, Eidfjord, the Hardangerfjord and Maurangerfjord with the Furebergsfossen waterfall, then Skjolden, the Lustrafjord and the Sognefjord, Fjærlandsfjorden, and Olden on the Nordfjord.

The eight-night Springtime Falls & Fjords of Norway sails from Southampton in May, with much the same fjords: the Lysefjord, Eidfjord, the Hardangerfjord, Maurangerfjord and Furebergsfossen, Skjolden, the Lustrafjord and the Sognefjord, Olden and the Nordfjord.

The nine-night Scenic Fjords of Norway sails from Newcastle in June, with Maurangerfjord, Eidfjord, Bergen, Skjolden, the Lustrafjord and the Sognefjord, Olden, Molde and Ålesund.

Whichever you choose, be on deck for the Lustrafjord, both coming in and going out. The village is the destination, but the last forty kilometres are the point.