The oldest stave church in Norway still standing stands on a ledge above a fjord, and you reach it by ferry. Urnes is on the north shore of Lustrafjord, the innermost arm of the great Sognefjord, and a small ferry crosses from Solvorn on the opposite shore in a few minutes, running regularly in the summer season. From the landing you walk up a path through farm fields to the church, which dates from around 1130 and is made of pine timber, black with tar, its shingled roofs layered up like a pagoda. Urnes was listed by UNESCO in 1979, among the first sites to be inscribed.
The reason people travel to see it is the carving. On the north wall are fragments of an older church, reused when this one was built, including a doorway where slender, interlaced animals twine through ribbons of vine in a graceful curving pattern that gave its name to the Urnes style, the last flourish of Viking art. The beasts are stretched and elegant, a long-necked creature fighting a snake. Inside, the nave is dark, with massive posts, carved capitals and the smell of old wood and tar.
The ride to get here is among the best in Norway. From Sogndal, the regional town of around seven thousand, a road runs up the fjord to Gaupne and onward to the Sognefjellet road, which crosses a mountain plateau at over 1,400 metres, the highest mountain pass in northern Europe, with glaciers, tarns and snow patches beside the tarmac. It is closed in winter and often opens only in late spring, so check before you go. Expect bends, tunnels, waterfalls and tour buses, with plenty of speed cameras and strictly enforced limits. Fuel is available in Sogndal and in Gaupne, but not on the mountain, so top up before the climb.
The Jostedalsbreen glacier, the biggest on the European mainland, is nearby, with arms of ice you can reach by a short road and a short walk. Fruit orchards line the fjord shores, and in early summer the cherry and apple blossoms are a delight. Try a waffle with brown cheese and jam at a roadside cafe.
The best months are June to September, and the long light evenings of midsummer are magical. Rain is common, so pack waterproofs.