Turtagrø is a small hotel at the foot of the Hurrungane, a cluster of sharp granite peaks that Norwegians call their Alps, and it is where Norwegian mountaineering was effectively born. English climbers arrived in the late nineteenth century, led by William Cecil Slingsby, who made first ascents here and wrote about them, and the local guides who worked with him started a tradition that still draws climbers each summer. The hotel has been a base for expeditions since 1888 and has the pleasant, old-fashioned feel of a place where boots by the door are normal.
The road that brings you here is the western ramp of Rv 55, climbing out of the Fortun valley in a series of tight hairpins that turn the ride into something of a set piece. The bends are tight enough to reward patience on a loaded bike, the surface is good, and between corners you see waterfalls, birch woods giving way to bare slopes and the high summits appearing and vanishing in cloud. The air changes quickly, and a sunny valley can become a cold wet plateau in twenty minutes, so keep waterproofs handy. The road is closed in winter, so this section is a summer and early autumn ride.
The hotel serves coffee, cake and proper meals, which makes it a natural stop, and the terrace looks toward Store Skagastølstind, the peak Slingsby first climbed in 1876 and the one that made the early fame of the range.
If you want to walk, the trail toward Skagastølsbu hut is a rewarding half day. The valley floor is boggy and the weather can turn quickly, but the scenery is the sort that lingers. Come in July or August for dependable weather, or in September when the light is lower and the birches turn gold. The road is much quieter then.