Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AROUND VOSS
Stalheim
POP 200
This gorgeous little spot high above the valley is an extraordinary place.
Between 1647 and 1909, Stalheim was a stopping-off point for travellers on the Royal
Mailroutebetween Copenhagen, Christiania (Oslo)andBergen.Aroadwasbuiltforhorses
and carriages in 1780. The mailmen and their weary steeds rested in Stalheim and changed
to fresh horses after climbing up the valley and through the Stalheimskleiva gorge, flanked
by the thundering Stalheim and Sivle waterfalls. Although a modern road winds up through
two tunnels from the valley floor, the
old mail road
(Stalheimskleiva) climbs up at an as-
tonishing 18% gradient. As tour buses, improbably, use this road, it's a one-way road: you
can drive down, but not up.
Sights
Everyone comes here for the views from the Stalheim Hotel garden. If you're not staying
atthehotel,the
terrace (admission free;
9.30am-6pm mid-May-Sep)
hasbreathtaking
views down Nærøydalen.
The
Stalheim Folkemuseum ( 56 52 01 22; Stalheim; adult/child Nkr50/free;
on request)
, near the hotel, includes folk exhibits and 30 log buildings laid out as a tradi-
tional farm. It only opens if there are 10 or more visitors; ask at the hotel for details.
Activities
There are at least two rewarding half-day hikes that begin at Stalheim.
Husmannsplassen Nåli
HIKE
Norwegians delight in building their homes in the most inaccessible places, but Husmanns-
plassen Nåli (the Cotter's Farm of Nåli), along the ledge from Stalheim high above Nærøy-
dalen,mayjustwintheprize.Builtin1870whenthefirstcottermovedtherewithtwocows,
four sheep and 11 goats, it was occupied until 1930. Now overgrown, it's an evocative spot,
