Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A TRIP
GAMLE STRYNEFJELLSVEGEN: A DRIVING TOUR FROM STRYN
This spectacular 130km route takes a comfortable four hours. Head eastwards from
Stryn along the
Rv15
as it runs alongside the river that descends from Lake Strynevatnet,
then follows the lake shore itself. It's an inspirational ride with mountain views as im-
pressive as anywhere in the country.
After 20km, stop to visit the
Jostedalsbreen National Park Centre
(Jostedalsbreen Nas-
jonalparksenter;
www.jostedalsbre.no
; adult/child Nkr80/40; 10am-4pm or 6pm May-mid-Sep) in
the village of
Oppstryn
. There's a worthwhile and informative 10-minute film about the
glacier plus exhibits illustrating avalanches and rock falls and a variety of stuffed wildlife.
Outside, enjoy its unique garden with more than 300 species of endemic vegetation, each
labelled in Norwegian, English and French. A cluster of picnic tables offers a spectacular
vista over the lake.
At an interpretive panel and sign 17km beyond the National Park Centre, turn right to
take the
Rv258
. It took a team of local and immigrant Swedish navvies more than 10
years to lay the
Gamle Strynefjellsvegen
(old Stryn mountain road) over the mountain.
The road, considered a masterpiece of civil engineering at the time, opened to traffic in
1894. For more than 80 years, it was the principal east-to-west route in this part of the
country. Until well into the 1950s, a team of some 200 workers, armed only with spades,
would keep it clear in winter, digging through several miles of metres-high snow.
The climb to the high plateau is spectacular, enhanced by thin threads of water tum-
bling from the heights and a trio of roaring roadside torrents carrying glacial melt. There
are several stopping points as you ascend this narrow strip. Savour, in particular, the
viewing platform above Videfossen, where the water churns beneath you.
Some 9km along the Gamle Strynefjellsvegen, you reach
Stryn Summer Ski Centre
(Stryn Sommerskisenter;
www.stryn.no/sommerski
)
, a bleak place outside the short season.
But from late May until some time in July, it offers Norway's most extensive summer ski-
ing; most of those photos of bikini-clad skiers you see around were snapped right here.
The steep ascent behind you, continue along a good-quality unsurfaced single-track
road that runs above a necklace of milky turquoise tarns overlooked by bare, boulder-
strewn rock. Here on this upland plateau, the sparse vegetation hugs the ground close.
After crossing the watershed 10km beyond the ski centre, there begins a much more
gentle descent to rejoin the Rv15. Turn left for a fast, smooth, two-lane run beside
Lake
