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I stayed in a treetop cabin in Norways fairytale forest and learned the Nordic art of slowing down

Less than two hours from Oslo airport, PAN's sky-high forest cabins offer hot tubs, canoe trips, wildlife spotting and a lesson in slowing down.

[Nighttime image of PAN treetop cabins, treehouse at dusk, triangular cabin lit up]

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At home in the sky: PAN's treetop cabins in the heart of the Norwegian forest(Image: Andreas Kokkvoll)

What is the lure of a treehouse? Is it the memory of climbing trees, higher and higher into the secret world of pinecones and canopy? Or something more primordial not just admiring nature from a distance, but becoming part of it?

In the depths of the Norwegian forests, there are many places to escape into wilderness, but few are as beguiling as PAN's Treetop Cabins. Three futuristic prisms, eight metres up on metal frames. Up here, you're level with the treetops, and the world falls away. They have an otherworldly, science-fiction feel, yet they're discreet. You come upon them suddenly, before they merge secretively back among the pines.

[At night time the cabins are lit with up with the glow of candles]

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At night time the cabins are lit with up with the glow of candles(Image: Andreas Kokkvoll)

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Less than two hours drive from Oslo airport, they stand on a hillside of Finnskogen, a vast forest nudging up against the Swedish border. These woods have an ancient feel silent and still. It's easy to understand Norway's guiding philosophy of friluftsliv here that wellbeing is found outdoors.

Sleeping in the sky

Inside, each lodge is the perfect tiny house a pocketsize kitchen and living area at the front, the bathroom in the centre section with a spacious shower. The walls are pine-clad and it all has that Scandinavian sleekness: everything you need, nothing you don't. On the upper platform, the double bed overlooks the triangular view.

[Double image of the view from the sleeping area at PAN and the Finnskogen forest]

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Nature inside and out: the view from the sleeping area and the magical Finnskogen forest(Image: David Lillywhite)

Oh, that view. Pan is the kind of place where you can feel happy filling your time with very little. You can while away a whole afternoon curled up on the sofa, watching the birds flit between branches, and the sun peel out over the lake below. It's fascinating in any weather. We had blue-sky sunshine, sunsets and a storm that rolled in over the horizon like slate sheets. It hit the lake and we watched from afar, cosy in our sky-high retreat. I put my phone down, opened the floor-to-ceiling window, listened to the hush of the forest and read a whole book in one sitting.

Embracing the cabin life

[A cheese platter at PAN treetop cabins]

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Nordic delicacies: PAN can help with catering, with locally sourced food(Image: David Lillywhite)

Meals can be as hands-on or hands-off as you choose. The cabins are stocked with essentials, but PAN can also arrange breakfast hampers and catering from local producers. We woke to a basket of fresh bread, pancakes, local cheeses and honey, and in the evening I made elk stew with juniper berries, to their neatly measured recipe.

In the simple, pared-back cabin life, cooking and eating together felt celebratory, with the panorama of forest and lake beneath us. As evening settled over the trees, we lingered over dinner by the window, watching the changing light on the water long after the plates were empty.

[The cabin and the pretty patio area at the bottom]

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The cabin and the pretty patio area at the bottom(Image: David Lillywhite)

At ground level, we found a table dotted with tall candles in glass lanterns, to light up al fresco suppers. Off-season, you can barbecue here (not in summer, to prevent wildfires), but any time of year you can lie out on the fur-clad seats, pull up a blanket and watch a billion stars overhead.

Exploring Norway's ancient forest

[The view from the top of the PAN cabins at sunset]

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Endless views from the top of the trees(Image: David Lillywhite)

There is much to pack quiet days with. Bicycles await to pedal the wooded paths, but we loved just walking. This forest is special. Centuries ago, Finnish refugees were drawn here, bringing myths and folklore with them. The silence is immense, the lichen underfoot puffs green dust, and sometimes a strange mist hangs in the distance, as though a forest spirit has shifted its form, just as you came upon it.

There are still wolves, bears and lynx, moose, foxes and arctic hares. We saw the latter two not the rest to my chagrin. Our host explained we wouldn't "They know how to disappear when they hear you coming," she commiserated.

[Pan's Room with Three Walls hot tub]

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At one with nature: the hot tub in the forest(Image: David Lillywhite)

But the highlight for me was the 'Room with Three Walls' the outdoor, wood-fired hot tub. The fourth wall is the forest, the ceiling is the sky, and sitting in the steaming water as the forest turns gold in the sunset, with a glass of something sparkling in my hand (which, heads up, I bought at the duty free in London because booze is mighty spenny over in Norway), was holiday perfection.

A river safari through the wilderness

[Woods and water: the beautiful 'Forest of the Finns' in Norway]

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Woods and water: the beautiful 'Forest of the Finns' in Norway(Image: Andreas Kokkvoll)

We signed up for an evening canoe down the Flga River, sharing a boat with our guide, Amund. We pushed off into the dark waters and floated quietly downstream. Along the journey, signs of beavers were everywhere dams of muddled twigs and neat points on felled tree trunks you'd need a Black & Decker to be able to recreate, though the elusive creatures refused to materialise.

By now, we were used to the silent stillness of the Finnskogen, but on the river, with the gentle lap of the oar and the forested bank reflected in the depths, it felt closer than ever. As we approached the final bend, Amund hissed, "There. On the left," and a fat beaver trundled down his slipway and submerged into the current with barely a ripple.

[Selfie view of three people canoeing down the Flga River]

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Octavia, her husband and Amund canoeing down the river

On the journey home: Norway's famous buns and Europe's only emerald mine

A final tip if you're driving the route back to the airport, along the shores of Norway's largest lake, Mjosa. There are two stops enroute, both bizarre... and unmissable.

[Small precious and semi-precious stones from the diamond mines, and Bolleland's famous buns]

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Small precious and semi-precious stones from the diamond mines, and Bolleland's famous buns(Image: David Lillywhite)

For a sweet treat, pull into the service station at Espa (suspend your disbelief) for Norway's most famous bakery, Bolleland. It's packed with neon 'I [heart] Bolleland' merch that lends it a crazed vibe, but the chocolate and caramel buns are legendary.

Don't scoff them in the car, head to the emerald mines Ole Jrgen Bjrnstad Smaragdgruvene, where you can eat them on the stony lakeshore while you sift for small yet genuine emeralds. It's the only such mine in Europe where you can keep anything you find. A viridescent souvenir of the forestlands.

[Aerial view of PAN's three treetop cabins]

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In the still of the forest: the three cabins among the trees(Image: Andreas Kokkvoll)

How to book PAN's treetop cabins

PAN's Cabins are available from 480 per night. Breakfast and meals available at an extra cost. Book your river kayak (and other nature experiences) through Pan.

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