Stegastein is a long timber platform pushed out from the mountainside, high above the Aurlandsfjord, and it is as much a piece of daring architecture as a viewpoint. It reaches about thirty metres out from the slope at around 650 metres above the water, and a thin glass wall at the end keeps you from the drop. It opened in 2006 as part of the Norwegian scenic routes programme and has become one of the best-known viewpoints in the country. From the end of the platform you look straight down onto the fjord, an arm of the Sognefjord, and watch cruise ships turning in the water, looking like toys.
The road that leads to it, the old route between Aurland and Lærdal, is called the Snow Road at its highest point. Below the platform, it climbs in a series of well-built bends, with a good surface and plenty of places to stop. It is a comfortable climb for a motorbike, not too steep, with long corners that open onto the view and then close again. Traffic includes coaches in summer, and caravans, so be patient and use the lay-bys. The road is steep on its fjord side, with stone walls and a barrier at the edge, but the fall beyond is a long one, so keep to your side of the road.
The Aurlandsfjord is narrow and deep, the sides sheer, and the water a dark green that turns silver in the right light. The fjord's best-known village is Flåm, at its head, where the famous steep railway climbs to Myrdal. Farms once clung to impossible ledges above the water, and some were reached only by boat or ladder, and many are now abandoned. They give a sense of how hard life was here, and why so many people left for America in the nineteenth century.
Stegastein has a car park and a toilet, and you can get a coffee and a snack in summer. Fuel is not available at the platform. Aurland, below, has a pump and a few shops, and Lærdalsøyri, on the far side of the mountain, has more, so fill up before you climb. Come in the morning if you can, before the tour buses arrive, and bring a windproof layer, because the platform stands in the breeze. In the evening, the light on the fjord is soft, and the colours are at their best.