The Sandsfjord is one of the quieter arms of the great Boknafjord system, a long strip of dark water between steep, wooded mountains, and the village of Sand sits near its head where the Suldalslågen river comes down from the hills. Around here Ryfylke loses its coastal softness. The slopes get higher, the farms cling to whatever flat ground the ice left behind, and waterfalls hang off the cliffs after rain, which in this part of Norway means most days.
The river is what made Sand known. The Suldalslågen is one of Norway's most celebrated salmon rivers, home to unusually large fish, and British gentlemen anglers rented fishing rights here in the nineteenth century, leaving behind lodges and a certain reputation. In Sand there is a salmon observatory built beside the river, with a viewing window into the water at the foot of a waterfall, where in summer you can watch the fish resting before they attempt the leap. Upstream, the river comes out of the long lake Suldalsvatnet, and the valley beyond leads toward the high mountains of Setesdal and Hardanger.
The riding around here is good fjord country riding. The road along the Sandsfjord runs close to the water, with short tunnels cut into the rock, a few tight bends around headlands and some nice flowing sections. North of Sand, the scenic route continues to Sauda, an old smelting town at the head of its own fjord, and beyond it the mountain road to Hellandsbygd and Røldal, with the impressive Svandalsfossen waterfall roaring right beside the road. The surface is generally good, and traffic is light most of the year. In early summer the waterfalls are at their best, and in autumn the birch on the slopes turns yellow against the dark rock.
Sand is a small place, with a shop, a cafe or two, a hotel and the basics, and there is a ferry across the fjord at Ropeid. Sauda, about twenty kilometres north, is the larger town, with fuel and more services. Ryfylke can be wet, so carry waterproofs and enjoy the waterfalls as the compensation, because they really are at their best in the rain.