National Highways

  • Hammerfest, National Highways, Road-trips

    Drive it Yourself: Skaidi to Hammerfest on the Rv94

    Drive it Yourself: The Rv94 from Skaidi to Hammerfest

    This short drive from Skaidi to Hammerfest will take you through an isolated region in Finnmark. Just as you feel you have driven to the end of the world, you turn a bend and there is the modern, thriving city of Hammerfest.

    In this article...

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

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    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
    • Interactive Google Map for easier navigation

    The drive: the Rv94 from Skaidi to Hammerfest

    Skaidi

    Town

    Skaidi is a small village and major traffic hub in Northern Norway. In the 1940s, the Skaidi Mountain Lodge and Station was built. Today it’s an important point to stop if you need a rest on the long road journeys.

    Here you’ll find a petrol station, various electric car charging stations, a cafe and a hotel.

    Repparfjorden

    Fjord

    Repparfjorden is a fjord located southeast of the island Kvaløya, where Hammerfest is. The fjord is quite shallow with an average depth of 40-60 metres and a maximum depth of 123 metres. There are strong currents at the bottom of the fjord.

    Kvalsund

    Town

    Kvalsund is a small village and former municipality in Finnmark. It was its own municipality until 2020, when it was merged with Hammerfest. The name directly translates to the whale strait, refering to the whaling that used to take place in the area. The name of the island Kvaløya means ‘whale island’.

    The village used to be known as “Finnbyen”, referring to the Coastal Sami settlement in the area. Until a few hundred years ago, the Coast Sami culture was completely dominant in Kvalsund. Norwegian and Kven immigration soon made the area multicultural, and during the ‘Norwegianisation’ process of the late 19th/early 20th century, most of the culture was lost. One of the only villages to still have the Coastal Sami culture is Kokelv.

    Kvalsund is one of the areas in Finnmark county with the most cabins that are especially used by people from Hammerfest. There is good salmon fishing in the fjord and there are nice hiking trails in the area.

    Kvalsund Bridge

    Bridge

    The Kvalsund Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Kvalsundet strait, linking the mainland to the island of Kvaløya. The bridge is 741 metres (2,431 ft) long and has 11 spans. It is the northernmost suspension bridge in the world.

    Akkarfjord

    Village

    Akkarfjord is a small fishing village with a population of around 80. There is a ferry service to Hammerfest as well as school. The main industry in the village is fish farming. Sheep farming and fishing tourism are smaller industries.

    Hammerfest

    Hammerfest is the northernmost city in the world with a population over 10,000 people. The town has an ice-free harbour and is regarded as one of the oldest cities in Northern Norway (along with Vardø). People have been living and trading here for hundreds of years. Hammerfest rose to prominence in the 18th and 19th centuries due to its proximity to the Arctic hunting areas.

    In town you’ll find the Reconstruction Museum, which documents what happened to Hammerfest during World War II, as well as the subsequent reconstruction of the region. The address for the museum is Kirkegata 19, 9600 Hammerfest.

    There’s also the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society, which is neither royal nor ancient (nor are there polar bears in Hammerfest) but it’s a fun little club to commemorate the history of Arctic hunting and trade. Become a member!

    Hammerfest Travel Guide

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

  • Gol, National Highways, Road-trips

    Drive it Yourself: The Hemsedalsfjellet Mountains (Rv52)

    Drive it Yourself: The Rv52 on Hemsedalsfjellet

    The Rv52 goes between Borlaug (the E16) and Gol. It is a relatively short national highway at only 79km long. Historically this was the shortest connection between East and West Norway over the Hemsedalsfjellet mountains. There has been a road here for hundreds of years, but a modern car road was completed shortly after Gol became a traffic hub in 1909 thanks to the construction of the Bergen Railway. The road opened in the 1940s and was kept open with snow ploughs. From the 1950s, the road was open all through the winter.

    In this article...

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
    • Interactive Google Map for easier navigation

    The drive: the Rv52 on the Hemsedalsfjellet Mountains

    Gol

    Gol is the administrative centre of the municipality. It is also an important transport hub. In Gol you’ll find the Hallingdal Museum, which is part of the Hallingdal Folk High School. As you drive through Gol, you’ll see the replica of the stave church on your right side (if coming from Hønefoss). It’s part of a kids park called Gordarike.

    Hemsedal Municipality

    Hemsedal municipality is a mountainous municipality with a rich cultural heritage. Charcoal dating back to 200AD has been found here, and there was probably a large tribe of reindeer here in old times. This indicates that hunter-gatherers were the first peoples to come to the area. It is possible to spot wild reindeer in the mountains. A stave church has been in Hemsedal since the 13th century, though it was demolished in 1882 to be replaced with the current church. One photograph exists of the old stave church.

    The tallest peak in Hemsedal is Høgeloft (1921m above sea level), and Hemsedal is home to the highest inhabited hamlet in Europe called Lykkja, which is 930m above sea level.

    Hemsedal has a reputation around Norway for being a ski centre. The first hotel was built here in 1900 after there had been a lot of optimism following the upgrade of the historic postal road just a couple decades earlier. Many people started to construct cabins in the area, and in the 1950s the idea of being a ski lift came. Today Hemsedal is one of the most popular ski resorts in the country and has been nicknamed ‘Scandinavia’s Alps’ because of the good ski conditions.

    Hemsedal

    Town

    Hemsedal town, also known as Trøym, is a small town with a population of 944. Hemsedal Church is a small church from 1882. It has space for 420 people.

    Hemsedal Ski Centre

    Ski Centre

    Hemsedal Ski Centre is one of the largest in Norway, with 20 ski lifts and 53 runs of varying difficulty. The ski centre also has facilities for snowboarding and various accommodation types. The Hemsedal Ski Centre has been used for several World Cup races.

    As you drive through Hemsedal, you will see the Ski Centre on the southbound side of the road (it’s easier to see it if you are travelling north)

    Rjukeandfossen

    Waterfall

    Rjukande Waterfall is located north of Hemsedal on the southbound side of the road. There is a parking place and you can walk to the waterfall – the walk takes only 10-15 minutes. Rjukeandfossen is a double waterfall with a height of approximately 18 metres. A suspension bridge is located about 50-100 metres after the waterfall and can be used to cross the river.

    Lærdal Municipality

    Lærdal is a municipality in western Norway. It has a relatively dry climate, with around 600mm of rain a year. Agriculture is one of the biggest industries here. The lower part of the valley has one of the country’s best climactic conditions for growing vegetables.
    The river running through Lærdal is called the Lærdal River and is known as the ‘Queen of the Salmon rivers’ because it is one of Norway’s most famous salmon rivers. In the valley, you can hunt deer, reindeer, and elk.

    Breistølen Fjellstue

    Hotel

    Breistølen Fjellstue opened in 1843 and was formally established as a public transport station in 1891. It is located on the Norwegian Trekking Associations classic trip from Jotunheimen through Skarvheimen to Finse.

    You can view their website here. 

    Borlaug

    Town

    The Rv52 ends at Borlaug. There is a small collection of wooden houses by the road that makes up an open-air museum. From here, you can take the E16 towards Bergen (via Borgund and Flåm) or towards Oslo (via Fagernes).

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

  • Kristiansand, National Highways, Road-trips

    Drive it Yourself: Telemarkveien (Rv41) from Kristiansand to Brunkeberg

    Drive it Yourself: Telemarksveien (Rv41)

    The Rv41, also known as Telemarksveien (or Telemarksvegen) is a truly remote road. This journey from Kristiansand to Brunkeberg takes you through one of the least populated places south of the Arctic Circle. Along the way, you’ll pass historic farming towns and the famous lake Nisser.

    In this article...

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
    • Interactive Google Map for easier navigation

    The drive: the Rv41 from Kristiansand to Brunkeberg

    Kristiansand

    Kristiansand was established in 1641 and is named after the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV (who also renamed Oslo after himself to Kristiania). The city is strategically located on the Skaggerak coast and used to be an important military base as all traffic had to pass here in and out of the Baltic Sea. Kristiansand was also an important shipbuilding harbour, and experienced its golden age after the American Revolutionary War and up to the Napoleonic wars.

    Kristiansand Travel Guide

    Tveit

    Town
    Tveit is the first town you pass through after leaving Kristiansand. The town has a population of 1,600 people. It has an Air Force School because of its proximity to the Kristiansand airport. The name comes from the Old Norse word ‘Tveit’, which refers to a separated land or a cleared area of land. Tveit Church (Tveit Kirke) is a stone church from the 12th century. It is clearly marked from the highway.

    Birkenes Municipality

    Agriculture and forestry are important industries in Birkenes. The largest company here is the 3B fiberglass company. The Norwegian Institute for Air Research is located here, and it is one of the most important stations in Europe for measuring trans-boundary air pollutants and climate drivers in Europe. 

    Birkenes Church

    Church
    Birkenes Church is from 1858 and replaced an earlier church on the site. The church is fairly unique for Norway as it is constructed in a Byzantine/Romantic style. The church is located by the highway.

    Mollestadeika

    Famous Tree
    The Mollestad Oak is an oak tree close to the village of Mollestad. It is one of the largest trees in Norway, with a circumference of 9.2 metres (30 feet) and a height of around 12 metres (43ft). Estimates of the age are between 450 and 550 years, but there are also outliers to around 1000 years. The nickname Vetteika comes from the vaettir. She believed that when the farm builder died, he returned as a guardian spirit. The trees that grew around his burial mound were protected and the surrounding land sacred. It was believed that when these trees were damaged this would bring bad luck. To ensure everything went well, sacrifices were made to the tree, including the first brewed beer of the year. The tree is marked with a white sign from the highway.

    Birkeland

    Town
    Birkeland has a population of around 3000 people. A short drive out of town is the Birkenes Bygdemuseum, an open-air museum that is home to the Myhre Peat Litter Factory (Myhre torvstrøfabrik), a museum about a factory that produced peat that was sold to the cleaning works in the cities. Peat litter is used as a component in power, commercial fertilised produced from doe waste.

    Froland Municipality

    Froland Municipality is a largely forested municipality. The coat-of-arms shows a squirrel, which is supposed to represent the forests. An ironworks was founded here in the 18th century and was the main industry until forestry and saw-milling took over in the 19th century. In 2008 there was a forest fire in Froland that is regarded as one of the worst forest fires in history. Over 10,000 acres of forest burned and were fought by around 300 men from the fire brigade, the Home Guard, the civil defence and the red cross. The smell of the smoke could be felt all the way to Thisted in Denmark. Several cabins burned, but no homes were damaged in the fire.

    Åmli Municipality

    Åmli municipality is a forested municipality. The municipality is linked to the beaver, which is clear from the coat-of-arms. It shows a standing white beaver on a blue background. When the beaver was about to become extinct in Eurasia who guys from Åmli were central to saving the remaining Norwegian population. Around 1900, the global population of Eurasian beaver numbered around 1200. The population in Norway was between 60-100. These two men started introducing more beavers and the population grew. In 1918, the population was 7000. Today it is more than 70,000 in Norway and more than 130,000 (originating from southern Norway) in Sweden. Some were also taken to other European countries. The global population has now passed one million. Åmli is home to Scandinavia’s most modern sawmill. The sawmill began operation in 1971 and has been expanded several times.

    Dølemo

    Town
    Dølemo is a historic meeting place. In old times, people would meet here for markets and horse races. The town emerged as a densely populated place around 1880. A surplus of people living in the surrounding farm hamlets, together with the need for other services that could provide livelihoods for people, meant that Dølemo eventually became a centre. Agriculture is the main industry here, and beekeeping has traditionally been an important livelihood with many large producers. Vehus Bigård is still one of the largest honey producers in Southern Norway. Dølemo is known for its annual market, which started in 1980. The market gathers 15,000 visitors a year to a traditional market.

    Åmli

    Town

    Åmli town is the administrative centre of the municipality. Åmfoss Bridge is from 1918 and is one of Northern Europe’s longest stone bridges. Åmli Church is a long church from 1909. It replaced the previous church that burned down on Palm Sunday in 1907.

    Elvarheim Hunting Museum is a museum all about (you guessed it) hunting traditions in Norway.
    You can find more information on their website:
    https://www.kubenarendal.no/lokale-museer/elvarheim-museum

    Nissedal Municipality

    The municipality surrounds the lake Nisser. There are over 1,750 large and small bodies of water and lakes, so the main industry here is hydropower. The name comes from the folkloric creature Nisse. In the 19th century, M.B Landstad suggested that the nisse came from this municipality because there the gnome tradition must have been so alive that Landstad thought the place was named after them. The municipality is actually named after the Lake Nisser, which comes from the Old Norse word referring to a rushing sea. In any case, now the municipality is associated with the nisse and this is reflected in the coat-of-arms. Beaver, roe deer, badger, elk, red fox, porcupine, marten, lemur, hare and viper are found here. Wolf and lynx are very rare. The main industry is agriculture, forestry, the wood industry, and power production.

    Treungen

    Town
    Treungen is a town with a population of 550. It is located at the southern end of the lake Nisser. The town has been closely associated with the city of Arendal throughout history because the lake was part of the Arendal water system. Treungen was an important hub where timber was towed here on the lake before it was sent on its journey towards Arendal. Tveitsund Bride is a historic bridge from 1919 and is the country’s second-longest stone vault bridge with a span of 51 metres. The bridge is known for its high-class engineering. Before there was a bridge, there was a ferry going across. Many people from the village participated in the construction work.

    Nisser Lake

    Lake

    The Nisser is a lake in the Telemark region. It is the second largest lake in telemark with a length of 35km. The tourist industry began around the lake in the 1960s and is a popular place to go swimming in the summer. Whoever buys a fishing license can fish for trout, char, whitefish, and perch.

    Nissedal Church

    Church

    Nissedal Church (Kirke) is a church from 1764. The church is located by the highway on the northbound side.

    Kviteseid Municipality

    Kviteseid is a municipality in the upper part of Telemark. The municipality has existed since the Middle Ages and was an important administrative centre in Telemark. Kviteseid was originally an agricultural community without any real urban development. The most important industries here are still agriculture and forestry, though tourism is on the rise.

    Kviteseid is known for its distinctive cultural traditions, including folk music, arts and crafts, food and architecture. The dialect in Kviteseid is one of the Norwegian dialects that has preserved the most features from Norse and is close to the most conservative form of nynorsk.

    Kviteseid Bygtun

    Museum

    Kviteseid Bygdetun is an open-air museum that is located by the Kviteseid old church and Kviteseid farm. It is in one of Norway’s oldest rural areas. The site has 12 buildings that have been moved from various farms in the district throughout the 20th century. The oldest building is from the 16th century.

    Kviteseid Church

    Church

    The church is from the 13th century. For long periods, especially in the 17th century, the church was the religious and official centre, and the area has been important since ancient times. The church is built in the Romanesque style.

    The church is located next to the historic Kviteseid farm. The farm has been inhabited for over 1000 years and is in the historic centre of the town. For many hundreds of years the farm was the official farm for the parish priest in Kviteseid. The main building burned down in 1764 and the farm was rebuilt in 1769. Today the yard consists of seven buildings forming a square.

    After the old church you will cross two bridges. The second bridge crosses the famous Telemark Canal.

    Kviteseid

    Town

    Kviteseid is a small town with a population of around 800. It is not where the original town was; the original town was closer to the old church. However, the modern town centre was built here. The opening of the Telemark Canal brought a lot of traffic to the region, and this led from Kviteseid being a small settlement to being a modern village.

    Kviteseid has a long tradition in butter production. The first dairy came in the 1890s, and ever since then the town has been known for its butter production.

    Brunkeberg

    Town

    Brunkeberg is a small settlement. Norway’s first teacher’s school was located here. Today the school building has been moved and is being used as a private cottage. Brunkeberg Church is from 1790.

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

  • Kristiansand, National Highways, Road-trips

    Drive it Yourself: Setesdalveien (the Rv9) from Kristiansand to Haukeli

    Drive it Yourself: Setesdalsveien (Rv9)

    The Rv9 highway from Kristiansand to Haukeli covers southern Norway truly off-the-beaten path. The highway is often nicknamed Setesdalsveien as you’ll travel through the Setesdalen valley. The road itself has been constructed in various stages due to the remoteness and therefore difficulty of the region. The most difficult stretches of road are now tunnels. The Setesdal valley is known for its rich culture and traditions, and the first mention of people in this valley is from the 12th century.

    In this article...

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
    • Interactive Google Map for easier navigation

    The drive: the Rv9 from Kristiansand to Haukeli

    Kristiansand

    Kristiansand was established in 1641 and is named after the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV (who also renamed Oslo after himself to Kristiania). The city is strategically located on the Skaggerak coast and used to be an important military base as all traffic had to pass here in and out of the Baltic Sea. Kristiansand was also an important shipbuilding harbour, and experienced its golden age after the American Revolutionary War and up to the Napoleonic wars.

    Kristiansand Travel Guide

    Mosby

    Town

    Mosby is the northernmost part of the Kristiansand municipality and has a population of 2000.

    Vennesla Municipality

    The first people came to this municipality in the Stone Age. Until industrialisation at the end of the 19th century, people here lived on agriculture, forestry and salmon fishing. The river was used as part of the timber export, and many sawmills were located along the river.

    Salmon has been important to Vennesla and early on attracted foreigners to the village to fish. The most famous foreign salmon fishermen from earlier times are the English noble family Hawkshaw. Salmon disappeared in the early 1960s as a result of the river being polluted by emissions from the timber factory Hunsfoss. The river was cleaned in the 1990s and it is now possible to fish for salmon but only with a license. Hunsfoss was the largest workplace until it went bankrupt in 2011 after 125 years of operation. The main industries today are forestry.

    Vigeland Hovedgård

    Historic Site

    Vigeland Hovedgård is a manor house located in the town of Vikeland. The property is from 1847, though it is sitting on the foundations of the old main building that was demolished. The property was built by a Swiss man called Caspar Wild, who owned a sawmill and Kristiansand and wanted a house for the summer. In 1894 the farm was sold to the Englishman John Clarke Hawkshaw.

    Today the building is a restaurant or you can go on a salmon safari here.

    Øvrebo

    Settlement

    Øvrebo is a small settlement. In the period between World War I and World War II, a ski was found in a bog. The ski is the oldest ski in Norway and is on display at the Ski Museum at Holmenkollen in Oslo. It is believed to be from the Bronze Age.

    Hægeland

    Town

    Hægeland is a small town with a population of 364. In older, times, the population would be over 700. Hægeland is known for having a strong Christian congregational life, and the famous healing preacher Svein-Magne Pedersen had his offices here.

    Hægeland Church is from 1830. The oldest mention of a church in history is from 1565. In the 17th century, the church owned several cows that were rented out to farmers. The church was in bad condition by the end of the 17th century and was sold by the King into private hands. The old church was demolished in 1829 and replaced with the present church.

    Evje and Hornnes Municipality

    Evje and Hornnes is a municipality that was created when two separate municipalities were merged in 1960. The municipality is rich in old cultural landscapes and has several distinctive cultural monuments after mining. For example, the Flåt nickel mine, formerly Northern Europe’s largest nickel mine, is located here.

    This is one of the largest ‘moose municipalities’ in Southern Norway. Some landowners run hunting rentals for both deer and small game.

    Evje

    Town

    Evje is the administrative centre of the municipality and has a population of 2,500 people. The town grew in association with mining that took place in the area, especially the nickel refinery that is now a museum. Called the Flåt nickel mine, the mine opened in 1872 and closed in 1946. For a time, it was the largest nickel mine in Europe and was even the world’s largest for a short period in the 1880s. There are several paths that you can follow at the site. This is a short detour out of Evje.

    Another interesting attraction in Evje is the Galteland stone, a rune stone from the beginning of the 11th century. The original is kept at the Cultural History Museum in Oslo, while in Evje there is a replica.

    Otra River

    River

    The Otra is the largest river in Southern Norway. It is 246km long and starts at the high end of the Setesdal valley and empties out into the harbour near Kristiansand. There are salmon in the river and some salmon fishing is permitted with a licence.

    Bygland Municipality

    Bygland is a municipality in the valley and traditional region of Setesdal. About 80% of the municipality consists of mountains, bogs, water, pastures, and forest. The river Otra runs through the valley and the municipality. The coat-of-arms represents the lynx, which can be found in the municipality. The lynx are sometimes hunted if they are causing losses to the sheep herd.

    Byglandsfjord

    Town

    Byglandsfjord is the municipal centre and has a population of 330. The town is a communications hub that developed at the beginning of the 20th century. Here there was a change from transport on land to see. Byglandsfjord station was the end point for the Setesdalsbanen that ran down to Kristiansand. From here, transport was done on boat. The veteran boat DS Bjoren does summer routes from Byglandsfjord via Bygland to Ose. In Byglandsfjord is a Tine factory that produces butter.

    Byglandsfjord station is a historic building in town. The station is built in ‘dragestil’ or the dragon style.

    Grendi

    Town

    Grendi is a small village with an interesting building. The Landeskogen Tuberculosis Sanatorium is in Grendi. It was the first of a series of government health measures against tuberculosis at the beginning of the 20th century. The buildings are from 1912 and the sanatorium opened in 1916. It could fit 134 patients. In 1962, the building was turned into a home for the developmentally disabled, and in 2005 the Pentecostal congregation Filadelfia in Kristiansand opened a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. In 2010, Aktive Fredsreiser established the non-profit Landeskogen peace centre, which it still is today.

    Årdal Church is an octagonal church from 1828. In the cemetery is a monument for Even Thorkildsen Lande, a politician who was active during the writing of the Norwegian constitution. The current church likely replaces a stave church from before the year 1300.

    Hanehaug

    Historic Site

    North of Bygland is Hanehaug, a burial mound and archaeological site. Here graves have been found from the Stone Age, Iron Age, Bronze Age, Migration Period and Viking Age at Nese in Bygland. The diameter of the bound is 16 metres.

    King Hane is said to have lived here in the 11th century and ruled over the whole of Bygland. Legend says that St. Olav came on a Christian journey to Setesdal. King Hane gathered an army from all the surrounding villages to fight against the King. The battle is said to have taken place in an area north of Bygland. King Hane fell and was buried in Hanehaug. His holy white troll cow, Audhumbla, was buried in a mound next to him.

    The site is marked with a white sign that says “Gravfelt”

    Valle Municipality

    Valle is a largely forested municipality with most of the settlement living along the river Otra. In older times, when the road to the mountains was more important, the communications conditions were such that Valle and the rest of Setesdal was very isolated from the west of the country. At Lysebotn in the western part of the municipality there was a meeting point between the people from Western Norway and the people from Setesdalen. Because of its isolation, Valle has unique cultural traditions. The instrument “Munnharpe” is important here, along with the fiddle. Valle also has a unique folk costume.

    Valle has a special secondary school for students who want to learn to be a goldsmith. Hydropower is an important income for the municipality.

    Rysstad

    Settlement

    Rysstad is a hamlet that is regarded as the cultural centre of Valle. Rysstad is the historic centre of the municipality. In Rysstad you’ll find Hylestad Church (Hylestad Kyrkja) – it’s by the highway. It is an octagonal church from 1839 and seats 200. In the church are copies of the Hylestad Portal, with motifs from the legend of Sigurd Fåvnesbane. The portal came from the stave church that used to stand on the site. Hylestad Stave Church was demolished in the 17th century.

    Sylvartun

    Historic Site

    Sylvartun is a historic building that is on the northbound side of the highway. The folk music environment in Setesdal is in many ways unique with strumming on the Hardanger fiddle and harmonica, kveding and dance handed down in an unbroken tradition. The oldest practitioners today learned everything the old-fashioned way – directly from fellow villagers who were born at the end of the 19th century.

    In addition, music and dance have for a long time been mediated through performers at a very high artistic level. Folk music is one of the trademarks of Setesdal that people expect when they come to the valley.

    From its establishment in 1961 until the end of the 2000s, through four decades, Sylvartun was the central sylvsmed and folk music arena in Setesdal. Setesdalsmuseet has seen it as a task to make arrangements so that Sylvartun can welcome visitors again. There are new exhibitions with a focus on musical instruments and visualization of music and dance traditions in Setesdal but with great transfer value to the surrounding area. We call it a center for intangible cultural heritage.

    In addition to being an exhibition arena, Sylvartun is also an activity center and an offer for children and young people in the whole valley with a view to promoting intangible cultural heritage as a practice arena for the playground, cultural school, etc.

    The museum is open in the summer months. https://www.setesdalsmuseet.no/faste-utstillingar/sylvartun/

    Valle

    Town

    Valle is the administrative centre of the municipality and has a population of around 300. The town used to be a popular destination for artists and there were three hotels in the town. Valle is also where the secondary school for goldsmiths is.

    Hovden

    Town

    Hovden is a population of 410 and is a large centre for tourism. Hovden is particularly known for its ski facilities. Before the ski facilities were constructed in the 1980s, the region was mapped and excavated to look for remains from the iron mining in the Viking age. Hovden holds the cold record for the county, with the temperature reaching – 38C in 1982.

    The Hovden Iron Museum is a museum about the history of iron ore in the region. The area was mined during the Viking and Middle Ages.

    Vinje Municipality

    Vinje municipality is a remote municipality with about 1.2 inhabitants per square kilometre. The municipality is located at the northern end of Telemark and extends into the Hardangervidda National Park.

    Haukeli

    Town

    Haukeli is a small settlement. Here you’ll find a café and place to eat called “Haukelo Turisthem”. Haukeli is the last settlement in Telemark you’ll visit before crossing over into the county of Vestland, which is part of western Norway.

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

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  • Hamar, Kongsvinger, National Highways, Road-trips, Røros

    Drive it Yourself: Norway’s East Side (Rv2 & Rv3)

    Drive it Yourself: Norway's East Side (Rv2 & Rv3)

    The eastern side of Norway alongside the Swedish border is known for its large forests, remote settlements, and moose population. Not many tourists make it this far east, but for those that do, they are rewarded with charming historic and industrial settlements as well as beautiful stretches of highway through dense pine and oak forests.

    In this article...

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
    • Interactive Google Map for easier navigation

    The drive: the Rv2 & Rv3

    Lina

    Town

    This drive begins on the Norwegian/Swedish border in a small village called Lina.

    Skotterud

    Town

    Skotterud is a small town with a population of around 1,300. The town is known for the forestry industry and has some sawmills and other timber businesses. Skotterud is located on the southernmost point of the Finnskogen forest. The town is also a stop on the Kongsvinger railway line, which runs from Lillestrøm just outside of Oslo to Charlottenberg on the Swedish border, where it’s possible to change trains and head to Stockholm.

    Matrand

    Town

    The Rv2 passes alongside Matrand, but not through the town. If you want to drive into the town, there is a nice historic church just off the highway called Eidskog Church. Eidskog Church is a small church from 1665 and has a baptismal font from the Middle Ages. It’s believed there was an earlier church on the site that was likely a stave church.

    Kongsvinger

    Kongsvinger is both a municipality and town that you will soon pass through. The town is on the Glomma, which is Norway’s longest river (the guide will cover the river soon). Kongsvinger is an interesting historic town worth spending some time in.

    It’s believed that the town has been an important place since the Viking Age, and several finds from the Stone Age have been found in the area. In the 17th century, the Kongsvinger fortress was constructed by King Christian V of Denmark-Norway to protect the city from attacks from Sweden. The city was redesigned into a grid layout by Johan Caspar de Cicignon, who also designed the street layout for Trondheim.

    When Norway entered into a union with Sweden in 1814, Kongsvinger became an important rest stop for travellers between the two countries. The fortress was more or less shut down in 1823. Railway development reached Kongsvinger in 1862 with the construction of the Kongsvinger Line between Lillestrøm and the Swedish border.

    Today the town is characterised by being heavily forested, so agriculture and forestry-related businesses are the main industries.

    Kongsvinger Travel Guide

    Glomma River

    River

    At 621km (386 mi), the Glomma is Norway’s longest river. It has a drainage basin that covers 13% of Norway’s surface area, all in the southern part of the country.

    At its full length, the river runs from Aursund near Røros and empties into the Oslofjord in Fredrikstad.

    The combination of raw materials, water power and transport has over the centuries encouraged industry along the Glomma. Some of the country’s largest manufacturing and processing businesses are found at its mouth.

    Grue Municipality

    Grue municipality is a largely forested municipality. The word ‘grue’ comes from the Old Norse word referring to a grave or pit, and there have been many burial mounds discovered here as well as finds from the Viking Age. Flint fields that are over 4,000 years old have been discovered here.

    Kirkenær

    Town

    Kirkenær is the administrative centre of Grue municipality. It used to be an important community with timber mills and nailworks but has now lost its importance.

    In 1822 Kirkenær was the scene of the Grue Church fire, a major fire disaster in which at least 113 people died, and which led to a legal order that all doors in public buildings should swing outwards. The current Grue Church is from 1828 and is located on the highway (northbound/Ulsberg side). Kirkenær station is a lovely building, but train traffic no longer goes through here. There’s also a beautiful old building called Kirkenær farm, which is the farm that gave the town its name.

    Arneberg Church & Hof Church

    Historic Site

    On the northbound side of the road is Arneberg Church. The church is from 1878 and was built for the villagers on the east side of the river so they no longer had to travel across to Hof Church on the other side. Shortly before it was decided to build this church, three people drowned trying to get across the river to the church.

    If you want to visit Hof Church, it is located just over the river from the highway. The exit is marked with a yellow sign saying Hof (3km) and a picture of a church. Hof Church is a brick church from 1860, but was built to replace a stave church that was demolished for being too small in 1861. The baptismal font is from the 13th century and the altarpiece comes from the stave church that stands on the site.

    Åsnes Municipality

    Findings from the Stone Age here show that the first settlements came along the river around 1,500 years ago. In the Old Norse sagas, Snorre Sturlason writes about a chieftain who cleared the forest to establish a settlement. Christianity reached the area in the 12th century.

    The name of this traditional region is Solør, which is a well-known agricultural area and is one of Norway’s largest potato districts. The area is characterised by large forests where there are large moraine deposits and gravel deposits.

    Flisa

    Town

    Flisa is the administrative centre of the Åsnes municipality with the Glomma river flowing here. Flisa Bridge is the world’s longest wooden bridge designed for full traffic loads. The bridge opened in2 003 and is 196 metres long.

    Here’s something interesting to see in Flisa – the world’s largest toothpick. The Norwegian company Jordan (the produces toothpicks) has a factory here. If you want to see it, the toothpick is at the end of the bridge on the east side of the Flisa train station. Put “Toothpick Flisa” into GPS – it’s a few minutes off the highway.

    Another interesting thing about Flisa – in summer they are plagued with mosquitos to the extent that the mosquitos are known as “Flisa Mygg” or “Flisa mosquitos”.

    Toothpicks and mosquitos – Flisa has it all!

    Våler Municipality

    Våler municipality is a largely forested municipality, with nearly 90% of the total area covered by forest. though there is a lot of agriculture here. It’s believed the first peoples settled here around 1800BC and they lived by hunting and fishing. The name Våler comes from the word “Vål”, which means piles of branches and tree stumps from cleared land. A legend tells that when St. Olav travelled through the area to Christianise people and came to Våler, he encountered some resistance but his power (and threats, probably) encouraged people to convert to Christianity. Disagreement about where to build the new church led to arguments, to Olav shot his arrow into the sky and where it landed the church would be built. The arrow fell into a bog down by the river, so the areawas called Våler. The coat-of-arms represent St. Olav’s arrow.

    Many Finns settled in Våler in the 16th century. The Finnish immigration was due to the fact that at the time there was war and famine in Finland, and the Swedish king Gustav Vasa welcome the Finns to cultivate the huge unused forest areas on the border. The Finns brought a special culture and way of life, including their special form of agriculture called “svedjebruk”. This method involved setting fire to the forest and cultivating the burnt area which, due to the ash, was very fertile. They grew rye, cabbage and turnips. The Finns also brought language with them. This is why the forest here is called Finnskogen – Finn Forest.

    Shortly after entering the municipality you’ll pass the turn-off for the town of Valer (the sign reads “Valer sentrum”, which is the administrative centre. The highway doesn’t go through the town.

    Elverum Municipality

    Elverum is the next municipality. Elverum is known as the ‘forest capital’ of Eastern Norway and has several timber industry companies, including the head office of the Glomma Forest Owners Association and a regional office of the Norwegian forestry association. The military also has an important presence here that has existed since the 17th century because of the proximity to the Swedish border. A large defence system was built in the late 17th century to protect Norway if war broke out with Sweden. Today there is a military camp here called Terningmoen, which has the Guard School (recruit school for the King’s Guard) and the Weapons School.

    Elverum

    Elverum town has a population of 15,000 and is the administrative centre for the municipality as well as a major hub in eastern Norway. The town is located on both sides of the Glomma River, with the eastern side being where the town grew up in the 17th century. The western side is more industrial with the military base, but also where the Glomsdal Museum is if you want to learn about the history of the area.

    The fortress Christiansfjeld was built in the late 17th century after Norwegian troops managed to stop a Swedish invasion in the area around Elverum, proving this was an important point. The fortress closed in 1742 after the major battled ended. Elverum was also an important market town after the town of Hamar was destroyed by Swedish troops and lost its city status.

    Elverum Travel Guide

    Åmot Municipality

    Åmot municipality is a small agricultural municipality. The name ‘Åmot’ refers to the meeting of rivers, and the municipality has the name because two major rivers meet here.

    Rena

    Town

    Rena is the administrative centre of Åmot municipality. Around 2,100 people live here and the main industry here is agriculture and forestry. The town was built up in the 19th century as communications improved along the river. During World War II, the town was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe because it was believed that King Haakon and the government were hiding here.

    Stor Elvdal Municipality

    Stor-Elvdal municipality is a forested municipality with some mountains towards the west side of the municipality, where the Hedmarksvidda plateau is. In the north is the Rondane national park region. The municipality is characterised by the Glomma river, which flows through it. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson characterised Stor-Elvdal as Norway’s “Rhine Valley”.

    Atna

    Town

    Atna is a small settlement just off the highway. If you are looking for a food/coffee break, Glopheim Café is a protected building and the only one of its type protected in Norway. Unfortunately, at time of writing the café is listed as closed and the microbrewery it helped revive went bankrupt in 2022.

    Rendalen Municipality

    Rendalen municipality is a heavily forested area with some mountains towards the western end. The municipality has a declining population; in the 1960s over 3,000 people lived here. Today, the number is around 1,700. The main industries here are forestry and agriculture.

    Alvdal Municipality

    The coat-of-arms of Alvdal represents skis, indicating the importance of skiing in the area but also the discovery of some of Norway’s oldest skis – dating to the 6th century – in the area. Alvdal is a mountainous municipality with some wild reindeer in the mountains. There has been human activity here since the Old Stone Age (before 4000BC).

    Alver

    Town

    Alvdal is a small town (pop. 2,418) with a long tradition of mining, as is common in this part of Norway. There has been mining in Alvdal since 1656, when the first finds of copper ore were made nearby. Mining didn’t take off until copper was found in Folldal in 1745. The mines in Folldal got into disputes with the mining operations in Røros, including access to timber. Due to the little access to timber in Folldal, a smelting hut was built in Alvdal instead. Alvdal has plenty of access to timber. It was less resource intensive to transfer ore to Alvdal than it was to transport wood to Folldal.

    New mines were built around the area in the 18th century. From 1905, a cable car was used to transport ore to Alvdal. Mining operations declined and have mostly ended now. Today the largest employer is the dairy company, and many people work in agriculture and the timber industry.

    Tynset Municipality

    Tynset municipality is a historic mining municipality. Tynset was first mentioned in 1211, when the archbishop of Nidaros in Trondheim had a stave church built here.

    Tynset

    Town

    Tynset is located a few minutes drive off the highway, but is a good town to detour into. Tynset is a small town located in the north of Østerdalen, or the Eastern Valley. It is first mentioned in 1211, when the archbishop of Nidaros consecrated a stave church. There is no stave church today; there are parts from an old stave church at Kvikne (more on that below).

    The town is known for its vast areas of forest and mountains, which are ideal for outdoor activities. Tynset is also one of the few places where most of its mountain farms (seter) are in use. You can visit them when hiking, and even rent some for the night.

    Kvikne

    Town

    Kvikne is home to the Kvikne copperworks, founded in 1630, which was one of Norway’s first copperworks. This led to the population in the mountain village rising and laying a foundation for further development. The copperworks was run by the Danish King, and was the largest copper plant in Norway. Eventually Folldal and Røros became more important, and Kvikne was clsoed down in 1812, though operations continued in a much smaller capacity until 1912. Only ruins remain today, but you can visit them.

    Kvikne Church (“Kviknes Kirke”) is from 1654 and seats 203. It has decorated equipment and an interior with a carved altarpiece and pulpit. The crucifix is in the Romanesque style and dates to around 1200. In the attic, stave church planks in the Urnes style (a famous early pattern design on stave churches) have been found, probably from an older church on the site. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was baptised in the church.

    Close to the church is the Bjørgan vicarage, a museum and former vicarage in Kvikne. It is considered an artists home as Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910) was born here and lived here until he was five. The house is built in 1780 and was a vicarage until 1860. The building was supposed to be demolished, but it was saved in an attempt to make it a museum for Bjørnson. Several items from his time are on display in the museum. 

    Rennebu Municipality

    Rennebu municipality is a mountainous municipality with both the Trollheimen and Forollhogna national parks partly located here. The name Rennebu comes from an old village that was on the road between Oslo and Trondheim.

    Ulsberg

    Town

    This drive ends at Ulsberg, which is where the Rv3 and E6 meet.

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

  • Andenes, National Highways, Road-trips, Sortland, Stokmarknes

    Drive it Yourself: Stokmarknes to Andenes on the Fv82

    Drive it Yourself: Stokmarknes to Andenes on the Fv82

    The scenic drive from Stokmarknes to Andenes on the Fv82 will take you through the Vesterålen region. The traditional region of Vesterålen is not as world-famous as Lofoten, but there’s no denying that Vesterålen is equally as beautiful. On this off-the-beaten path drive, you’ll pass through charming fishing villages and important settlements for North of Norway. This drive connects well with the Lofoten Tourist Road and the Andøya Tourist Road, making it perfect for any Norwegian road-trip!

    In this article...

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
    • Interactive Google Map for easier navigation

    The drive: Stokmarknes to Andenes

    Melbu

    Town

    Melbu is a small town with a population of 2,250 people. The town is located on the southern side of the Hadseløya island. Melbu is often referred to as the “Pearl of Vesterålen” because of its beauty.

    A large farm at Melbu is mentioned in the Viking Sagas, meaning settlement here is very Melbu has been a trading post for hundreds of years but began to see modern development in the 19th century. Melbu became an industrial centre with a dairy, wool and margarine factories and a large fishing industry. Fishing is still an important industry for Melbu.

    Vesterålen’s largest village museum is in Melbu, with one of the country’s finest collections of traditional costumes from the 18th century. 

    The historic Melbu Farm is a museum that has exhibitions on the history of the region, the bunad, and shows what life was like in the 19th century. The museum is located at the address M. Fredriksens alle 1, 8445 Melbu

    Hadseløya

    Island

    Hadseløya is the largest island in the municipality. The island is hilly. In common with the rest of Vesterålen, there are large areas of flat marshy terrain between the fells. The coastal area in the south west is cultivated.

    The island used to be a popular place for Engishmen to come fishing, and many books were written about the hunters paradise in Northern Norway. The first ptarmigan hunt in Norway using dogs took place on Hadseløya. Hunters from England brought their dogs with them and used the area to train their English setters as hunting dogs. During this period the island was almost cleared of ptarmigan.

    Hadsel Church

    Island

    The church is from 1824 but contains an Olav figure from the early 16th century. The triptych is also from the 16th century and was probably made in Utrecht. It is one of five found in Norway.

    The parish of Hadsel has been in existence since the Middle Ages and at least three churches have stood on the same site since the 14th century. One of these was dedicated to St. Stefanus, the first Christian martyr, and it is thought that the triptych was built for this church as Stefanus is one of the persons depicted in the carvings.

    It is believed that Hadsel was the regional and political chieftain seat during the Iron Age and had a settled population. So far nine archaeological finds have been made; one of them is the largest star-shaped sacrificial monument that has been registered in Norway.

    Hadsel Cultural Heritage Park

    Historic Site

    Close to Hadsel Church, by the highway, is the Kulturminneparken på Hadsel, or the Hadsel Cultural Heritage Park. This park has been excavated, and finds going back to before the Vikings have been found here. This indicates the importance of Hadsel in older times.

    Stokmarknes

    Stokmarknes is the administrative centre of Hadsel and has a population of around 3,500 people.

    Traces of ancient settlements in the area around Stokmarknes with sites from the Iron Age, burial sites and boathouse remains. Received status of ‘privileged trading post’ in 1776. It was strategically placed for vessels sailing along the outer side of Vesterålen, before the shallow Risøyrenna was dredged and opened for shipping in 1922.

    Around 1900 many industrial and commercial innovations occurred. Stokmarknes is regarded as the birthplace of the Hurtigruten as Richard With founded the company here in 1893. In town is the Hurtigruten Museum (address Richard Withs gate 1, 8450 Stokmarknes), which explains the history of the coastal ferry. You can also walk on the old ship M/S Finnmarken.

    Stokmarknes does have an airport and it is one of Norway’s most used regional airports with approximately 100,000 passengers annually.

    Stokmarknes Travel Guide

    Børøy Bridge

    Bridge

    The Børøy Bridge connects the islands of Hadsel and Børøya. It is 336 metres long and has a maximum clearing of 15 metres. The bridge was built in 1967 and was the first of the bridges to be built in Vesterålen.

    Børøya

    Industrial Area

    Børøya is a small industrial area with 500 people from 25 nations working here. The main industry on the island is fish farming and the processing of fish.

    Hadsel Bridge

    Bridge

    The Hadsel Bridge is 1km long and has a maximum clearance of 30 metres. The bridge opened in 1978 and is one of the four bridges built during the 1970s to connect the islands of Vesterålen to each other. Before the bridge, there was a ferry service here.

    Langøya

    Industrial Area

    Langøya is mainland Norway’s third-largest island and is 5km long and 40km wide. The highest mountain is 763 metres high.

    Grytting

    Village

    Grytting is a small village with a population of around 125 people. It is a popular place to go skiing, and there are tracks and ski jumps here. Tufts have been found from the Viking Age after a chieftains farm, and there are burial mounds here.

    Sortland Municipality

    Sortland Municipality is part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. It is located in the southern part of Vesterålen on the islands Langøya and Hinnøya, and the municipality surrounds the inner part of the Eidsfjorden and the Sortland Strait. The midnight sun occurs from 23 May to 23 July, while the polar night is from 30 November to 12 January. The region is popular for observing the northern lights.


    The region is mentioned in the Viking Sagas, where it is written as the home of Karle and Gunnstein, who took part in Tore Hund’s campaign against King Olav. The first church is mentioned in written sources in 1370. Yacht skipper Søren Mørch from Bergen settled here and started a yacht trade in 1659. This is the year Sortland is considered to be founded.


    Sortland is home to the Coast Guard Base in Norway. Tourism is also important, as is agriculture. Parts of the municipality were known in the latter half of the 19th century as one of Norway’s best regions for herring. The herring adventure here helped lay the foundation or the establishment of Hurtigruten. While the herring aren’t as plentiful as back then, there are still fishing in Sortland.


    Sortland has a small Sami population. A Sami family runs reindeer herding on Hinnøya. There used to be a reindeer husbandry, but it was closed in 1972. Some place names in the region come from Sami words.
    Sortland is regarded as one of the best music communities in Norway and the local band Madrugada has been one of the best in the country. The Sortland Jazz Festival takes place every autumn, and some of the world’s leading jazz musicians have taken part.


    Sortland is the only municipality in Vesterålen that has seen a stable increase in the popular over the past 25 years.

    Sortland

    Sortland has a population of around 9000 people. Archaeological finds indicate that the area has been inhabited for as long as 5000 years ago. The hunter gatherer population moved from settlement to settlement. 270 graves have been located from the Iron Age. Over 30 house remains have been found.

    Sortland grew after Risøyhamn was dredged and was opened for larger ships.

    Sortland became the busiest trading post in Vesterålen, schools were built and it became a traffic hub for the local area. The arrival of the Hurtigruten in 1922, the establishing of the Coast Guard and the airports have contributed to Sortland growing.

    Sortland has a small museum located at Strandgata 1, 8400 Sortland.

    Sortland Travel Guide

    Hinnøya

    Island

    Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, or the largest if you don’t include the Svalbard archipelago. The island is 80km (50 miles) long and 55km (34 miles) wide, and the highest elevation is at 1262m (4140 ft) above sea level. The best agricultural area is in the northeast, while the southern part is the Møysalen National Park. In the northwest of the island is a nature reserve containing a valley with forests and bogs, including the oldest pine trees in Norway, more than 700 years old.

    Inga Sami Siida

    Sami Site

    The Inga Sami Siida is a Sami visitors centre run by the Inga family, who have been reindeer herding here for 150 years. They began the property in 2009 and in the summer months have a drop-in centre where you can visit the exhibition, meet the reindeer, and have a try and reindeer lassoing. In winter you must prebook the experience.

    View their website here. 

    Andøy Municipality

    Andøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland, and forms part of the Vesterålen archipelago. The population of Andøya has decreased by 6.8% over the last ten years, and the main settlement is Andenes. The meaning of Andøy is unknown, though the last element means ‘island’.

    The municipality is spread across the island of Andøya and Hinnøya. The mid-section has bogs and marshes known for their Arctic cloudberries, and there are numerous lakes here too. The island is the only place in continental Norway where coal and fossils from dinosaurs are found. The Forfjorddalen nature reserve has some of the oldest pine trees in Scandinavia – some are more than 700 years old. Andøys is also the place where Egga, the edge of the continental shelf, is closest to the land.

    The municipality has a strong connection to aviation, with the 333 Squadron of the Air Force being stationed at Andøya Airport. The Andøya Space Centre is involved in international cooperation of the polar atmosphere and the northern lights. Andøya Airport is proposed to be closed by 2025, with air traffic moving to Evenes Airport.

    The fishing industry is still important to the municipality, and Andenes is one of the country’s largest fishing harbours and one of Northern Europe’s largest port facilities.

    Forfjord

    Town

    The name of the village is Forfjord, which comes from the name of the fjord the village is built around. The nature reserve here has the oldest living pine trees in Northern Europe, with some of them dating back to 830 AD. It is assumed that the forest was a source of timber and tar for Viking ships, and there are settlements and burial sites that are yet to be excavated.

    A famous person in Norwegian exploration came from Forfjord: Hans Jørgen Furfjord. He led the first expedition to stay the winter on Svalbard to hunt silver foxes, walruses, seals and polar bears. Items from his expeditions are on display in museums in Tromsø and Svalbard. Hans also kept diaries describing his adventures, including European monarchs visiting, his being imprisoned by British soldiers for not supplying them for free, barely surviving polar bear encounters, and surviving not freezing to death. He died at the age of 81 at his home in Forfjord. Some of his children emigrated to Canada and the United States, where some of his descendants live today. Some remain in Forfjord. 

    Andøy Bridge

    Bridge

    The Andøyabrua is 750 metres long and 30 metres high. The bridge was built in 1974 and is one of the four bridges built to connect Vesterålen together. The bridge crosses the Risøysundet strait.

    Andøya

    Island

    The island Andøya is the 10th largest island in Norway. In the marshy areas there is peat production and cloudberry harvesting. The only Norwegian deposits of coal outside of Svalbard have been found here, but mining the coal is not seen as economically viable. The island is well-known for its many fossils. Among others, a fossil of a 3m long fish lizard has been discovered. Finds of 11,000 year old charcoal deposits indicate that the island has been inhabited since the Stone Age.

    The island is mentioned in the King’s Sagas with the ancient Norse name Omd, both in the Ynglingsaga and the saga of Olav Trygvason. Omd was the ancestral land of the earls of Hålogaland. Some of the first Viking expeditions took place from here.

    Risøyhamn

    Town

    Risøyhamn is a small village located on the island Andøya. It has a population of 216 and is serviced by the Hurtigruten twice a day – if you take the Hurtigruten southbound you see the village around 11:30am. There are many older buildings in Risøyhamn, including Gammelgården from the early 18th century. There is a small open-air museum here with five buildings.

    Dverberg

    Town

    Dverberg is a small town with a population of around 200 people. Dverberg is known for its theatre club for kids, which has existed for 30 years.

    Dverberg Church is an old wooden church from 1843. Records show there has been a church here since at least 1589, but it was not new at the time. In 1658, the church in Dverberg underwent a major repair, but in 1734 the church was struck by lightning and had to be rebuilt. In 1839, it was decided to build a new church, and that’s the church standing today.

    Andenes

    Andenes is a small fishing community located on the top of Andøya. The village is known as being one of the best places to set off on a whale safari, and it has a direct ferry connection to the famous Senja Island, which we will be taking the following day.

    Andenes is close to the rich fishing grounds and these is evidence of fishing settlements from 500AD. The location means that it is very exposed to the weather. In the Middle Ages, Andenes was a wealthy fishing village with traders from Germany and Holland coming to buy dried fish and the fishermen encountered the German Hanseatic League. It is claimed that the fishermen also caught species of shark the Greenland Shark. The fishermen used dead calves and dogs that had decomposed in barrels as bait.

    In 1520, around 590 people lived on the island. Andenes had its golden age around the year 1600, before a steady decline set in. Andenes was integrated with the Bergen trading monopoy in Northern Norway.

    Today fishing is still important, though tourism is a growing industry thanks to the whale safaris.

    Andenes Travel Guide

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

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  • Folldal, National Highways, Road-trips, Røros, Trondheim

    Drive it Yourself: Trondheim to Røros on the Fv30

    Drive it Yourself: Trondheim to Røros on the Fv30

    The Fv30 is a short but scenic highway that travels from near Trondheim across to the eastern part of Norway and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Røros. Along the way, you’ll pass charming agricultural villages and some of the historic mines.

    In this article...

    Watch on Youtube

    All of our roadtrips are available on YouTube to watch. They include information about the area provided in text and voiceover form, plus they show the drive in full (sped up in some spots!) so you can get an idea what the drive is like. 

    Visit Our YouTube Channel

    Download this guide to have it as a PDF ready to go for your road-trip!

    All downloadable guides come with an interactive Google Map for easier navigation. 

    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
    • Interactive Google Map for easier navigation

    The drive: Trondheim to Røros

    Trondheim

    This drive begins in Trondheim, Norway’s third-largest city. 

    Trondheim Travel Guide

    Støren

    Town

    Støren is the administrative centre of the municipality and has a population of around 2,300 people. The village was built up in the mid-19th century and saw growth when the Dovrebanen railway station was constructed.

    In the village you can see Støren Church (address Kjørkvollveien 2, 7290 Støren), a historic octagonal church from 1817. The earliest mention of a church here was in 1432, but the church was not new that year. The first church was likely a stave church from the 12th century. The church you see today is the third church to be on the site.

    You will be following the Rørosbanen train line, so almost every village will have a train station.

    This drive is pretty remote with not too many places to stop at, but it is still a nice drive and Røros is worth it!

    Gaula

    River

    You are following the Gaula river, a 153km long river that runs through central Norway. The Gaula is regarded as one of the top five salmon fishing rivers in Norway.

    Rognes

    Village

    Rognes is a small village with a population of 200. The main industry here is agriculture, but there used to be a shoe factory and mechanical workshops here. One of the farms in the village, Bones Gård, is mentioned in the Old Norse sagas.

    Singsås

    Village

    Singsås is a small village with a population of around 1000. The village is an agricultural village, though some forestry also takes place. Singsås church is from 1884, but the first church on the site is likely from the 13th century. A crucifix in the current church has been dated to 1280, and it’s believed it came from the original church. The original church was likely a stave church but was located about 5km northeast of the town.

    Holtålen Municipality

    Holtålen municipality is a mostly remote municipality with large mountain areas and part of the Forollhogna National Park. The Kjøli mine is located in the municipality and is Northern Europe’s deepest mine.

    The coat-of-arms shows a ptarmigan, which was chosen to reflect the importance of hunting in the municipality.

    Holtålen

    Village

    Haltdalen is a small village located in the upper part of the Gauldalen valley, one of Norway’s longest valley. The Haltdalen Stave Church is from here but is now in an open-air museum in Trondheim. The stave church is from 1170 and is the only stave church of the East Scandinavian style that has been preserved, making it one of the oldest wooden buildings in Norway. The church was replaced in 1704 and then again in 1881 with the current church. The stave church managed to survive all of this and was handed over to Trondheim in 1882.

    Gammelgården is Haltdalen’s first vicarage and was built at the beginning of the 18th century. Today the main building and two storehouses from the 1750s remain.

    Renbygda

    Village

    Renbygda is the administrative centre of Holtålen municipality. In the village is Ålen Church, which replaced a stave church from the Middle Ages. Parts of Ålen Stave Church were used to build Haltdalen Stave Church, for example the west portal and west wall in Haltdalen stave church comes from Ålesn stave church. The current church is from 1881. There are two church bells in the church, the oldest one being from 1736.

    Røros Municipality

    Røros municipality is named after the town of Røros and is a UNESCO World Heritage area for its mining history. More about Røros will be explained when you reach the town.

    Røros municipality is one of the coldest places in Norway, and the coldest temperature recorded was -50C in January 1914. Most of the municipality is at around 630 metres above sea level and is mostly forested with birch. Two national parks, Femundsmarka national park and Forollhogna national park are partly within the municipality.

    The coat-of-arms comes from the old symbol for copper, which was heavily mined in Røros for centuries.

    Historically the municipality was inhabited by the South Sami people, who did reindeer herding here. In 2022 the national government approved a resolution to add an official Sami language name for the municipality: Rosse.

    Røros

    Town

    Røros is one of the most fascinating towns in Norway, and it is also seriously underrated. Located close to the Swedish border, Røros is a well-preserved historic town with charming wooden houses and an important industrial past.

    Røros was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980. In 2010, the listing was expanded to include the Circumference.

    Here’s the reasoning:

    Røros Mining Town and Circumference is linked to the copper mines, established in the 17th century and exploited for 333 years until 1977. The site comprises the town and its industrial-rural cultural landscapes; Femundshytta, a smelter, and the Winter Transport Route. Røros contained about 2000 wooden one and two-storey houses and a smelting cabin. Many of these buildings have preserved their blackened wooden facades, giving the town a medieval appearance. Surrounded by a buffer zone, coincident with the area of privileges (the Circumference) granted to the mining enterprise by the Danish-Norwegian Crown, the property illustrates the establishment of a lasting culture based on copper mining in a remote region and harsh climate.

    “Røros is a unique mining town built exclusively of wood. The town has for 333 years been a melting pot of cultures and influences from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Trondheim and the surrounding district. This has resulted in a wooden house environment, which represents much of Norway’s finest traditions, and is unique in our country’s industrial, social, cultural and architectural areas. The mining town of Røros and its surroundings is a characteristic example of a special traditional style of wood architecture creating a unique town 600 metres above sea level.”

    Be sure to visit the Røros Museum at Lorentz Lossius Gata 45, 7374 Røros

    Røros

    Welcome to Røros! We made it. Røros is a UNESCO World Heritage Area full of history, charm, and things to do. I recommend parking at the Smelthytta Musuem and exploring Røros on foot. You can spend heaps of time here – be sure to make the most of it.

    Røros Travel Guide

    The Previous Drive

    The Rondane National Park

    The best way to get to Folldal is by taking the Rondane Tourist Road. 

    Rondane Tourist Road

    The Next Drive

    Oppdal to Kristiansund

    On the following day we drove to Kristiansund on the west coast of Norway via Oppdal. 

    Oppdal to Kristiansund

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

  • Dombås, Lom, National Highways, Road-trips, Sognefjord, Vågåmo

    Drive it Yourself: Lom to Dombås on the Rv15 & E6

    Drive it Yourself: Lom to Dombås on the Rv15 & E6

    Here’s my guide from Lom to Dombås on the Rv15 and E6 highways. In June 2023 Sean and I decided to take a scenic road-trip through the fjords of Western Norway while the weather was good. My goal was to redo Trollstigen, which we had already done but only ever in bad weather. To get there, I thought it would be interesting to drive from Dombås along the Trollveggen mountains. This drive from Lom to Dombås doesn’t exactly have the most spectacular views, but it is a practical way of getting from west to east Norway. There are some interesting historic places along the way, and we cover those below. 

    In this article...

    Download this Guide

    All of our guides can be downloaded via our online store. 

    We offer downloadable versions of our self-guided drives on our online store. 

    View on Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.

    Lom to Dombås via the Rv15 and E6

    Lom Travel Guide

    Lom is a beautiful town and well worth a visit when in Norway. It is located between some of Norway’s most famous national parks and is home to Lom Stave Church, one of the most impressive stave churches left. 

    Lom Travel Guide

    Garmo

    Village

    Garmo is an interesting historic village. The village is mentioned in documents back to the 13th century as a major farm. Over the centuries it has been divided into smaller farms.

    One of the famous legends from Garmo is how it got its first church. The legend says that Torgeir, an old man from Garmo, was given fishing rights by King Olav (later Saint Olav) after a dispute in 1021 in exchange for converting to Christianity and building a church. The right to fish was always highly valued.

    Garmo Stave Church is from around 1130. The church is no longer in the village; it was moved to Maihaugen in Lillehammer in 1921. The writer and Nobel Prize winner Knut Hamsun was baptized at the stave church in Garmo. His childhood home was located near Lom.  

    Today the village is known for its tradition-rich fiddling community.

    Vågå Municipality

    We are now in the Våga municipality, which itself is located within the Otta Valley. The area is mentioned in the Old Norse Sagas, and it is said that King Olav stayed here while christianising the region. The population was told they had to become Christian, or their homes would be burned down.

    Most of the municipality is higher than 900m above sea level, and on the northern side of the valley the mountains can reach peaks of 1500m – 1600m above sea level.

    Valdresflye Tourist Road

    Just before reaching the village of Vågåmo, you’ll pass the turn to drive onto the Valdresflye Tourist Road, one of Norway’s 18 national tourist roads. You can learn more about it in a separate article. 

    Valdresflye Tourist Road

    Vågåmo

    Vågåmo is a small village with around 1,500 people living there. It is located by the Våga Lake. In the centre of town is the Vågå Chruch from the 17th century that was partly built with parts from an older stave church. The Vågå rectory (Ullinsvin) is where Edvard Munch’s great grandmother had a herb garden.

    Vågåmo is one of the driest areas in Norway but has been hit by floods and landslides. Extreme floods and landslides have occurred throughout history; the best known is from 1789 while the most recent major event was in 2006.

    Edvard Munch's Vågå

    Sel Municipality

    Sel is regarded as the gateway to some of the most beautiful mountain areas in Norway, including Rondane and Jotunheimen. The word ‘sel’ comes from the Old Norse ‘sil’, which means ‘still, flowing water’. Here there is little rainfall, cold winters, and warm summers.

    The village of Sel has several historic farmhouses. The famous novel “Kristin Lavransdatter” by Sigrid Undset is set in Sel on a fictional farm, and the movie from the 1990s was filmed here.

    Rondane National Park

    When the Rv15 meets up with the E6, there will be some turn-offs to head towards the Rondane National Park. We covered this in a separate article. 

    Rondane National Park

    Dovre Municipality

    Dovre is a municipality within the Gudbrandsdalen valley. Large parts of the municipality include the Rondane, Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella and Dovre national parks. The municipality is known for its rich flora and fauna, especially the musk ox. There are also populations of wild reindeer and wolverines.

    Dombås

    Dombås is a small town with a population of around 1,161 and is located at the northern part of Gudbrandsdalen. The village is a popular hub for access to the national parks in the surrounding area.

    In historic times, Dombås was an important station for travellers heading between Oslo and Trondheim. Today it is still an important transport hub, with the Dovrebanen and Raumabanen railways meeting here. Also, the E6 and E136 highways meet here.

    Dombås Travel Guide

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

    Previous Drive

    Lærdal to Lom

    See the previous day’s drive from Lærdal to Lom via Tindeveien and the Sognefjellet Tourist Road. 

    Lærdal to Lom

    Next Drive

    Dombås to Åndalsnes

    On the next drive, we take the E136 from Dombås to Åndalsnes, driving alongside the incredible Trollveggen mountain range. 

    Dombås to Åndalsnes
  • Aurland, Flåm, Hallingdal, Hønefoss, Lærdal, National Highways, Oslo, Road-trips

    Drive it Yourself: Oslo to Aurland via Hemsedal & Borgund Stave Church

    Drive it Yourself: Oslo to Aurland via Hemsedal & Borgund Stave Church

    There are many different ways to get between Oslo & Aurland, but this one is arguably the quickest. It doesn’t follow the one major highway the entire way, so it’s also a good way to mix it up a little. While the scenery might not be as dramatic as the other ways to get to the west from Oslo, it is an easy drive with some interesting places to stop along the way. 

    In this article...

    Download this Guide

    All of our guides can be downloaded via our online store. 

    We offer downloadable versions of our self-guided drives on our online store. 

    View at the Store

    Online Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the neighbourhood
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Information about facilities along the way

    Downloadable Guide

    • Information about points of interest
    • Images of each point of interest
    • Historic overview of the region & towns
    • Directions between points
    • Historic photos
    • Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.

    Watch on Youtube

    All of our roadtrips are available on YouTube to watch. They include information about the area provided in text and voiceover form, plus they show the drive in full (sped up in some spots!) so you can get an idea what the drive is like. 

    Visit Our YouTube Channel

    The drive: E6 between Oslo and Aurland

    Oslo

    This drive begins in Norway’s capital, Oslo. You can find a detailed guide to Oslo on the travel guide section of the page below. 

    Oslo Travel Guide

    Hole Municipality

    The municipality is located around the woodland of Oslo as well as the Tyrifjord (which is a lake). The soil is very fertile here and is suited to growing fruit, berries, and other agricultural products.

    The coat-of-arms show four gold crowns to symbolise the four Norwegian Kings who lived in the municipality: King Halfdan the Black, King Sigurd Syr, King Olav Haraldsson (St. Olav) and King Harald Hårdråde. As you can imagine, this is a very historic area. There are archaeological finds from the Roman and Migration periods, and it is known as one of the traditional landscapes in the Viking Age and plays a prominent role in the Norse sagas.

    There are a few historic churches in the area. Stein Church, now in ruins, was constructed in the latter half of the 1100s. Bønsnes Church is a medieval church from 1100 and is still standing today. Hole church is from around 1200 and sits on a hill overlooking the Tyrifjord.

    Hole is part of the traditional region of Ringerike. Ringerike is associated with the most notable kings in Norwegian history. It has also given its name to a style of animal art, first discovered on runestones in Ringerike.

    Tyrifjord

    Lake

    Tyrifjorden is a lake in the traditional region of Ringerike. It is Norway’s fifth largest lake. It Is around 26km long and has an average depth of 93 metres. It used to be part of the sea, and there are many finds from that time. It is one of the reasons it was popularly settled around by the Vikings.

    The lake is one of the country’s richest lakes in terms of species. Several areas directly adjacent to the fjord have conservation value due to their unique flora and fauna. The slopes and flats around the lake are fertile and the mild climate means that intensive agriculture is carried out around the lake.

    Free fishing without a licence is based on tradition and custom. The Tyrifjorden has brown trout, crayfish, and pike. The crayfish population is the largest in Norway. Perch can also be caught here. The lake is also used as drinking water for the surrounding areas.

    It is not a fjord by English definitions. Norwegians commonly use the word ‘fjord’ to mean any body of water; many lakes are known as fjords in Norway.

    Sundvollen

    Village

    Sundvollen is a small village located along the Tyrifjorden. Sundvollen is known for its hotels; Sundvolden hotel is one of Norway’s oldest hotels. It was first mentioned in written sources in 1648. Another hotel, Kleivstua Hotel, is an inn that catered to travellers along the Old Royal Bergen Road, the historic road between east and west. The road also formed the pilgrim’s road between Oslo and Trondheim.

    Ringerike Municipality

    Ringerike is a historic region with some of Norway’s earliest kings coming from here. It is believed that the first kingdoms of Norway settled around the Tyrifjorden, hence the name Ringerike (The Old Norse name was Hringariki; hringr means ‘ring’ and riki means ‘kingdom). The first permanent settlements were here between 3000 and 2000 BC.

     Ringerike is one of the medium-sized urban municipalities in Norway and is the largest forestry industry municipality in the country. Considerable agriculture is also carried out here.

    Hønefoss

    We are passing by the town of Hønefoss. The town is built around a waterfall called Hønefossen (foss=waterfall) and grew in relation to the timber industry. Sawmills were placed along the waterfall to utilise its power. The last half of the 19th century brought significant development for the town. The connection to Drammen via railway in 1868 was important for the town.

    Flå Municipality

    Flå is the southernmost part of the traditional Hallingdal valley. Flå is known around Norway for Bjørneparken, which is a park with bears, moose, dear, wolves, foxes and lynx. Flå is also the birthplace of Olav Thon, who went on to become one of the richest men in Norway with his chain of hotels.

    Agriculture is the most important industry in Flå, though the timber industry is also important. The production on the farms is forest and grain, often with sheep and sometimes llamas as well. There are many cabins in the area as it is a popular spot to hunt for deer. Fishing is also organised in several area, and you can buy a licence at most petrol stations.

    Nesbyen Municipality

    Nesbyen municipality is part of the Hallingdal valley. Ancient trading routes went to Western Norway through the Valdres and Hallingdal valleys and then down to Røldal and Odda. The area here was originally populated by migrants from the west.

    Nesbyen has a boreal climate with warm summers and cold winters. The 20th of June 1970, Nesbyen recorded the all-time high in Norway at 35.6C (96.1F). Nesbyen also has a record cold temperature for the area at -38C. There is an old meteor crater just north of Nesbyen. About 650 million years ago, a 200-300 metres meteorite struck this area. This resulted in a 5km impact crater.

    Nesbyen

    Nesbyen is a small town with around 2,100 people living here. The village centre is surrounded by farms as agriculture is an important industry here.

    Hallingdal

    Hallingdal is one of the major valleys of eastern Norway. The valley is V-shaped and is drained by the Hallingdal River that comes in from the Hardangervidda plateau. Hallingdal is one of Norway’s busiest valleys as Highway 7 and the Bergen to Oslo train run through the valley.

    The valley has been an important trading valley for thousands of years. In the early years, Hallingdal prospered from trading with iron and trading routes developed throughout the Iron Age. Hallingdal farmers also traded cattle. The valley is characterised by its livestock farming, especially wool, dairy and eat production.

    Hallingdal is known for its unique art and music culture. Hallingdal has developed its own style of rosemaling with a distinct symmetrical style. The music of Hallingdal is traditionally dominated by the hardanger fiddle. The dance tunes have a distinct pattern, following three different lines of tradition. The Halling is the name of an old folk dance that is used in Norway. Each dancer is alone, and the climax of the dance is known as thrown Halling, where the goal is to kick down a hat from a stick.

    Hallingdal Travel Guide

    Gol Municipality

    Gol is a small settlement with around 3,200 people living here. It is the trading, service, and communication centre for the municipality.

    Gol used to have a stave church, called the Gol Stave Church. The church was from around 1216, but in the 1870s it was too small for the congregation. It was bought by King Oscar II’s Collections – later the Norwegian Folk Museum that’s now the open-air museum in Oslo. A new church was built in Gol.

    Gol has now built a kid’s park called Gordarike, which is inspired by Norse mythology and the Vikings. They have built a replica of the Gol Stave Church as a highlight of the park.

    Hemsedal Municipality

    Nesbyen municipality is part of the Hallingdal valley. Ancient trading routes went to Western Norway through the Valdres and Hallingdal valleys and then down to Røldal and Odda. The area here was originally populated by migrants from the west.

    Nesbyen has a boreal climate with warm summers and cold winters. The 20th of June 1970, Nesbyen recorded the all-time high in Norway at 35.6C (96.1F). Nesbyen also has a record cold temperature for the area at -38C. There is an old meteor crater just north of Nesbyen. About 650 million years ago, a 200-300 metres meteorite struck this area. This resulted in a 5km impact crater.

    Trøym

    Town

    Trøym is the administrative centre of Hemsedal. Most people (myself included) mistakenly call the village Hemsedal because it has all the main services for the municipality. For example, we are passing Hemsedal Church from the 1880s. The old stave church used to be here.

    Hemsedalsfjellet

    Mountain Range

    Shortly after leaving Trøym, you will cross the Hemsedalsfjellet Mountain Range over into Western Norway. The road can close in winter. 

    Lærdal Municipality

    Lærdal is a municipality in western Norway. It has a relatively dry climate, with around 600mm of rain a year. Agriculture is one of the biggest industries here. The lower part of the valley has one of the country’s best climactic conditions for growing vegetables.

    The river running through Lærdal is called the Lærdal River and is known as the ‘Queen of the Salmon rivers’ because it is one of Norway’s most famous salmon rivers. In the valley, you can hunt deer, reindeer, and elk.

    Lærdal is an important place historically. It has been inhabited for 6,000 years and has always been on the main road between east and west in southern Norway. Originally the road was a footpath. In 1647, Kongevegen was built as a more modern road, and then in the 1840s it was upgraded to Den Bergenske Hovedvei. You can still see remains of Kongevegen in Lærdal municipality; today it is a hiking path.

    Borgund Stave Church

    Located close to the main highway is Borgund Stave Church, one of the 28 remaining stave churches in Norway. 

    Borgund Stave Church

    Lærdal

    Town

    This has been an important trading place since the Middle Ages. Lærdal sits on the Sognefjord, which goes approximately halfway into the country between the coast and the Swedish border. Therefore, it has always been preferred to travel by sea. Lærdal developed as a natural marketplace because of its position along the fjord. Coastal farmers brought herring and fish and exchanged goods with the mountain farmers who came from the Hallingdal and Valdres valleys.

    Historic wooden houses survive in Lærdal today that are connected to this historic marketplace.

    Lærdal Travel Guide

    Aurlandsfjellet

    If you are travelling in summer and don’t want to drive through the long tunnel, you can take the scenic detour on the Aurlandsfjellet Tourist Road. Allow an extra hour or so to do the drive, but it is well worth it!

    You can find our guide to Aurlandsfjellet below. 

    Aurlandsfjellet Tourist Road

    Lærdal Tunnel

    Tunnel

    The Lærdal Tunnel is 24.5km (15.2 mi) long. It is the longest road tunnel in the world. Construction started in 1995 and the tunnel opened in 2000, costing around 1 billion NOK ($113 million USD).

    The design of the tunnel takes into consideration the mental strain for the drivers, so the tunnel is divided into four sections, separated by three large mountain caves. The caves have blue lighting with yellow lights at the fringes to give an impression of sunrise. The caves are meant to break the routine.

    There are no emergency exits. Emergency phones are every 250m. There are also 15 turning areas in case of an accident. High air quality is achieved through ventilation and purification.

    Aurland Municipality

    People have lived off hunting and fishing in Aurland for thousands of years. Farming started around 2,000 years ago and agriculture is still an important industry here. Tourism is also emerging in importance as Aurland is home to the famous Flåm village as well as Gudvangen.

    In the village of Aurland you’ll find Vangen Church, a medieval stone church from 1202. It is built in the early Gothic style influenced by English architecture. The fact that they used stone as a building material indicates how important Aurland was as a town.

    Flåm

    Our drive concludes in Flåm, one of the most popular places in Norway for tourism. If you want somewhere a little quieter, you can choose to stay in Aurland instead. 

    You can find our travel guide for Flåm below. 

    Flåm Travel Guide

    Where to Go From Here

    Flåm is perfectly located to continue your road-trip. You can either take the ferry over to Balestrand and continue from there, or you can continue on to Bergen. 

    Flåm to Bergen on the E16
    Bergen to Balestrand

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!

  • Bergen, Eidfjord, Hardangerfjord, National Highways, Road-trips, Voss

    Drive it Yourself: Voss to Eidfjord

    Drive it Yourself: Voss to Eidfjord

    The drive between Voss and Eidfjord may be short, but it is definitely beautiful. The drive takes you from central Voss down along the old Hardanger Train Line, through a few tunnels, and then into Eidfjord. Eidfjord is located at the end of the Hardangerfjord, and is a popular place to visit for those heading up to Hardangervidda. Along the way you’ll also cross the famous Hardanger Bridge. 

    In this article...

    Watch on Youtube

    All of our roadtrips are available on YouTube to watch. They include information about the area provided in text and voiceover form, plus they show the drive in full (sped up in some spots!) so you can get an idea what the drive is like. 

    Visit Our YouTube Channel

    The drive: E6 between Voss and Eidfjord

    Voss

    This drive begins in Voss. You can find a detailed guide to Voss below. 

    Voss Travel Guide

    Skjervsfossen

    Waterfall

    If you’re doing this drive in summer, the detour via Skjervsfossen is very nice. You can stop by the waterfall for some photos. This road is actually the old highway down to Hardanger – if you don’t take the detour, you go through a very long tunnel instead!

    We didn’t go past the waterfall on this trip, but we have been there before. The first stop on the road is at the top of the waterfall (middle photo), and you can see the hairpin road and the road across the waterfall (right photo). Once you drive down the road you can stop for a photo of the lower part of the waterfall (left photo). 

    Granvin Lake

    Natural Attraction

    We are now driving along Granvin Lake. The lake is 4 sq km (1.56 sq mi) and has tunnels on both sides of it. The old Hardanger Line used to run along the west side of the lake.

    Granvin Church

    Historic Site

    Granvin Church sits on the eastern shore of the lake in a small farm area known as ‘Granvin’. The church was built in 1726 and seats about 300 people. The earliest church was mentioned in 1306, but it was not built in that year. It was likely a wooden stave church. The church was expanded in the 17th century. In 1726, the church was sold to private landowners, who tore it down and replaced it with the current church. The church was sold to the parish in 1857.

    Granvin

    Village

    On this drive we don’t go into Granvin, but if you want a short detour then Granvin is a lovely town. Kjerland Gardsbutikk is located just off Highway 13 and is a great place to buy Hardanger apples, Hardanger cider, or fresh produce.

    Hardanger Bridge

    Bridge

    The Hardanger Bridge is a suspension bridge across the Eidfjorden branch of the Hardangerfjord. It used to be a ferry connection, but this bridge has replaced that and significantly improved the driving time between Bergen and Oslo. It is the longest suspension bridge in Norway.

    Construction began on the bridge in 2009 and it officially opened in 2013. The bridge had a budget of 2.3 billion kr (312 million USD) and more than half was to be paid with tolls and saved ferry subsidies.

    The bridge is 1,380m (4,530 ft) long with a main span of 1,310m (4,300 ft). The maximum dock height is 55m (180ft) and the towers reach 200m (660ft) above sea level. The largest cruise ships can’t go under the bridge, but smaller ones can. It is one of the longest suspension bridge spans in the world, and it is the longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge.

    When you cross the bridge, you’ll pay a very expensive toll. That’s for paying off the bridge!

    Eidfjord Municipality

    Eidfjord municipality is located at the end of the Eid Fjord, which is a branch of the Hardangerfjord. The Eid Fjord is 29km (18 mi) long and is the fjord you’re driving along now. 90% of Eidfjord municipality is 900m above sea level; mostly in Hardangervidda. The nature provides the basis for power production, agriculture, hunting, fishing and tourism. 

    Eidfjord

    We have now arrived in Eidfjord! If it’s a summer day, it may be very busy. I’ve had luck parking outside the Joker supermarket, but you can also park a little ways out of the town and walk in.

    All the information you need for Eidfjord can be found on the travel guide section of the Hidden North. 

    Eidfjord Travel Guide

    Where to Go From Here

    Eidfjord to Flåm via Vøringsfossen and Hardangervidda on the Hardangervidda Tourist Road

    Cross the Hardangervidda Plateau from Eidfjord and end up in Flåm. 

    Hardangervidda Tourist Road

    If you liked this drive, or if you have any travel tips, please leave a comment in the section below!