Western Brook Pond sits tucked in Gros Morne National Park on Newfoundland’s west coast. It’s a freshwater fjord carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age. After the ice melted, the land rebounded, the seawater flushed out, and what remains is a pristine lake encased in rock walls up to 2,000 feet high.

I first visited on a late summer morning when mist still clung to the rim of the rocks, and the only sound was splashing water, distant birdcalls, and my own breath. The journey to the start of the hike is part of the magic: a gentle two mile hike over coastal bogs, boardwalks, and ridges until the trail opens to the lake.

Then you board a small tour boat, brave the sometimes windy “pond” or lake (which can make boat landings tricky), then slip into the gorge. The cliffs rise, waterfalls cascade down slabs of gray rock, sometimes as many as half a dozen. Pissing Mare Falls, one of the highest in eastern Canada, frees its bladder from the upper plateau and drops the trickling contents into the fjord below.

The lake itself is extremely clear, cold, fresh, and pure. The land is mostly igneous rock, head-high vegetation, tree canopy, and rich, sticky soil. As you would expect, the entire place is shaped by stone, air, ice, and near silence. Unlike high-traffic Norwegian fjords, you will find no city noise, bright lights, or throngs of people here. But you might spot caribou, bald eagles, and sometimes seals near the shoreline.

To get there, you have to work for it, though. There are no roads leading to the top. You must hike it. The guided Western Brook Pond day hike my brother and I booked with Bon Tours ($235 per person) took around 10-12 hours along a well-maintained, 11 mile roundtrip trail with 1500 feet of elevation gain (plus a 10 mile roundtrip high speed boat ride). In addition to waterfalls, you’ll traverse “bouncy” ground that bogs are known for, refreshing swimming holes, and sweeping views that are among the most dramatic I’ve seen anywhere on Earth.

None are more staggering than the “Conqueror’s Throne” overlook–a picture-perfect rock that juts from the top of the fjord and looks back from where you came. This postcard view has been etched in my mind forever–seriously.

I’ve stood at the edge of Norway’s Geirangerfjord, its walls plunging straight into deep waters that are ages old with modern cruise ships gliding on top like toy boats. And yes, Norway is stunning. But Western Brook Pond offers something more raw, more detached. There are no ferries here. No cafes carved into the cliffs. Just effort and reward. You hike in. You earn it.

Western Brook Pond doesn’t just rival Norway’s fjords. In many ways, it surpasses them. The cliffs, although less famous, are no less impressive. This is wilderness you step into and carry with you long after you leave. It’s less traveled, less developed, more pristine, and proof that you don’t need to cross the Atlantic to witness Earth at its most majestic.

That’s just what Western Brook has always quietly been: one of the finest fjord experiences in North America, if not the most dramatic view in all of Canada. For those who venture to the summit, it’s also unforgettable.

Pro Tip: If you go, be sure to try local “bakeapple” berries (also called cloudberries), which look and taste like citrus orange raspberries, which is another awesome thing Newfoundland and Norway share in common.

Blake Snow contributes to fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies as a bodacious writer-for-hire and seasoned travel journalist to all seven continents. He lives in Provo, Utah with his wife, five children, and one ferocious chihuahua.