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CREDIT
JUNE-JULY 2012
WIZZ MAGAZINE
45
NORWAY
FEATURE
Plan ahead.
Certain mountain
passes and roads
are closed during
colder months,
so avoid surprises
by logging onto
175.no The
English link is on
the bottom left.
Haugesund to Voss
– National Tourist
Route Hardanger (4)
The National Highway Route 134, north-east to
Jøsendal, takes you into the heart of the Hardanger
area. Known as the fruit basket of Norway, around May
each year the orchards of Ullensvang create a tapestry
of colours when cultivars such as apples, plums and
cherries pick their own time to start their blossom.
It’s said that the area makes up 40% of Norway’s
national fruit production, and that apples were
introduced by English monks who arrived at Lyse
Abbey in 1146. Visiting farm stores alone will make
your journey worth the while, or follow the official
Fruit and Cider Route (www.siderruta.no).
Start in Odda, the gateway to the Hardangervidda
and Folgefonna National Parks, to pick one of hundreds
of mountain walks. The Hardangervidda Nature
Centre, given to cultural and natural history, in Eidfjord
is the most modern of its kind in Norway, while the
Hardanger Folk Museum in Utne offers an introduction
to Norwegen costumes, embroidery and even fiddles,
made in this area for centuries.
Road tripping through Norway you get a constant
sense of nature being tamed by brilliant engineering
through brilliantly constructed bridges, tunnels and
mountain passes. But in the dramatic and narrow
Måbødalen Valley north of Lofthus, you can see for
yourself how nature claims back authority by walking
on what was once an engineering masterpiece. Opened
in 1918, as the first Norwegian road for cars, it was
until 1985 part of the main road between Oslo and
Bergen, but now lies engulfed by mountain forestry
and boulders. While in the valley, it’s worth climbing
the footpath to the top of the roaring 180-metre
Vøringsfossen waterfall (pictured top).
STATENS VEGVESEN: HELGE STIKBAKKE, BJØRN ANDRESEN