Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
all of them come with well-kept bathrooms with tub/shower combinations. The
staff can arrange mountain sightseeing tours as well as boat trips on the fjords.
The Utne Hotel restaurant is one of the major reasons to stay here: It's one of
the finest in the fjord country. A complete meal of Norwegian specialties costs
300NOK ($43), and the dining room is open to nonguests.
N-5779 Utne i Hardanger. & 53-66-64-00. Fax 53-66-10-89. www.utne-hotel.no. 25 units. 1,270NOK
($180) double. Children under 12 stay free in parent's room. Rates include continental breakfast. AE, DC, MC,
V. Closed Dec 24 and Easter. Amenities: Restaurant; bar. In room: No phone.
2 Lofthus: Center of the Hardangerfjord
379km (236 miles) W of Oslo; 140km (87 miles) E of Bergen
A favorite spot in the Hardanger district is sleepy Lofthus, once the haunt of
Edvard Grieg and other artists. Resting on the fjord, the resort is enveloped by
snowcapped mountains, farms, and orchards. Hovering in the background is the
Folgefonn Glacier.
Lofthus is actually the collective name for several groups of farms—Helleland,
Eidnes, Lofthus, Opedal, Århus, Ullensvang, and Pedal—extending from north
to south along the eastern coastal slopes of Sørfjorden, 6 to 8km (4-5 miles)
south of Kinsarvik Bay.
The discovery of a runic stone at Pedal in the 19th century established that
the area has been populated since about A . D . 600. Cistercian monks came to
Opedal 7 centuries later and pioneered a fruit-growing industry. Their footpaths
are still used and many visitors have benefited from the 616 steps, the Monks'
Staircase, that makes its way up the steep gradient to the Vidda.
The church and buildings of Ullensvang lie around the mouth of the Opo
River. The Gothic stone Ullensvang church was probably built at the end of the
13th century, and the builders may have been Scottish masons. Although the
church has irregular hours, it's usually open during the day from May to mid-
September. Ullensvang was the name of the ancient farm where the prestegård
(church farm) stands facing the church. It is now the name of the church, the
hamlet, the parish, and the kommune (county), and the site of Hotel Ullensvang,
the most famous hotel in the region (see “Where to Stay,” below).
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE Board the ferry at Kvanndal for Kinsarvik, where you can
make bus connections south to Lofthus. Train connections are possible from
Voss, 49km (31 miles) to the east, on the main Bergen-Oslo line, and take 1 hour
and 15 minutes. Bus service takes 1 hour from Odda in the south, 15 minutes
from Kinsarvik in the north. From Bergen you can go by express bus/boat in 2 1 2
hours. Motorists can take the E16 east from Bergen to Kvanndal, where you can
board a car ferry to Kinsarvik. At Kinsarvik, head south on Route 47 to Lofthus.
VISITOR INFORMATION The summer-only Lofthus Tourist Informa-
tion Office, Strandkaiterninalen ( & 53-66-11-90 ), is open daily from June to
August noon to 5pm.
SEEING THE SIGHTS
An El Dorado for nature lovers and fjord fanciers, Lofthus, along with Ulvik (see
later in this chapter), is one of the best centers for taking in the glories of
Hardangerfjord . Your hotel can usually arrange boat trips or you can go
to the tourist office (see above) and see what excursions might be available at the
time of your visit.
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