Norway · Trollstigen and Geiranger Switchbacks
A 137 km loop from Trollstigen
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Why this ride
Waterfalls, walls and road status that actually matters. 137 km round from Åndalsnes - plan on about 2 h 38 of riding. The stops in between: Valldal strawberry stop, Eagle Road and Geiranger fjord. Trollstigen hairpins is the high point. It tops out at about 1,150 m. Trollstigen is subject to seasonal closure - check it is open before you set off. It is a high-mountain day.
Roadbook
- Trollstigen hairpins
pass · 858 m
Trollstigen, the Troll's Ladder, climbs out of the Isterdalen valley in eleven hairpin bends, with a gradient of about one in ten, and the road is as steep and tight as it looks in photographs. It was opened in 1936, after years of work, by King Haakon VII, and it still has the narrow width and stone-walled edges of its era, with passing places on the bends. The Stigfossen waterfall plunges beside the road, and a bridge crosses it at one of the hairpins, so that you ride through the spray.
The mountains around are among the most dramatic in Norway. Across the valley rise the Trolltindene, a line of jagged peaks, and the Trollveggen, the Troll Wall, a vertical rock face about eleven hundred metres high, the tallest in Europe, which draws climbers and base jumpers from around the world. On a clear day, the colours are vivid: grey rock, white waterfalls, green meadow and blue sky. In cloud, the peaks vanish, and the hairpins climb into a white void, with water streaming down the rocks.
At the top, a modern visitor platform made of steel and glass hangs over the gorge, and a viewing path leads along the edge. The plateau is about 850 metres high, bare and rocky, with patches of snow lingering into summer. Because of the snow, the road is closed in winter, usually opening in May or even June, and closing in October. Traffic in July and August is heavy, with coaches, camper vans and cars, and the bends can be congested, so an early start, before nine, is a good idea.
Riding the Trollstigen demands attention. The hairpins are tight, with a steep climb and a sudden turn, and the surface can be wet from waterfalls. Coaches take the whole road, so stay on the inside of left-hand bends and keep well back. Fuel is available in Andalsnes, twelve kilometres below, which has two thousand people and shops, but not on the pass. The road continues over the plateau to Valldal and the Geiranger fjord, with a ferry crossing on the way. Carry waterproofs, because rain is common, and take your time. The reward is a ride you will remember for life.
- Valldal strawberry stop
food
Valldal is a village at the head of the Norddalsfjord, and each July it becomes the strawberry capital of Norway. The south-facing slopes above the water, sheltered by mountains, catch long summer light, and the berries that ripen on them are small, deep red and very sweet, with a flavour more intense than the larger kinds. Growers sell them from roadside stands, in cardboard boxes or as soft ice cream, jam and cake, and the season is short, starting in early July and ending in a few weeks. A bowl of fresh strawberries with cream, eaten on a bench with the fjord below, is a very good reason to stop.
Valldal sits at the junction of two great roads. To the south, the road climbs the Eagle Road toward Geiranger, and to the north-east, the Trollstigen road leads across the plateau to Andalsnes. The ferry from Eidsdal to Linge, a short crossing, links the two. The fjord is deep and calm, with steep slopes of birch and spruce, and small farms clinging to ledges, and in the evening the mountains turn pink.
The village has about a thousand people, and a handful of shops, a campsite and a hotel. Strawberry farms offer pick-your-own, and cafes serve waffles with cream and jam. Fuel is available at a small station, but opening hours are limited and it is not always staffed, so it is best to arrive with a reasonably full tank. Stranda, about seventeen kilometres away, has about two and a half thousand people and a larger selection.
The road to Valldal is well surfaced, with a mix of fjord-side bends, tunnels and short climbs, and traffic is heavy in July, when tourists and strawberry buyers arrive. Take it slowly and enjoy the views. Rain is common, and the mountains often vanish in cloud, but the damp makes the green of the fields even greener. Evenings are long in summer, and you can ride in daylight until after ten. In winter, many roads are closed or icy, and Valldal is quiet. If you can, come in July.
- Eagle Road viewpoint
photo
Ornesvingen, the Eagle Bend, is a hairpin on the road above the Geirangerfjord, and the viewpoint beside it gives the classic picture of the fjord: a long, narrow slot of green water, hemmed by cliffs and waterfalls, with the village of Geiranger at the far end and the white wakes of ships crossing. The road that leads to it, the Eagle Road, climbs from the fjord in eleven hairpins, and takes its name from the birds that sometimes soar here. The name suits the bend, which seems to hang in the air.
The Geirangerfjord is a UNESCO World Heritage site, shared with the Naeroyfjord, and it is among the most visited places in Norway. Its walls rise more than a thousand metres, and waterfalls tumble down them, including the Seven Sisters, a row of falls side by side, and the Suitor, which faces them across the water. According to the legend, the Suitor is a man trying to woo the sisters, and the Bridal Veil is another fall that looks like gauze. In summer, cruise ships fill the fjord, and the village is crowded.
Higher still lies Dalsnibba, a mountain with a toll road that climbs to about 1,500 metres, with a view down onto the fjord, and a stop there is worth the effort on a clear day. The old farms along the fjord, some abandoned, cling to impossible slopes, and a few can be visited. Walking trails lead between them, and the air smells of pine and wet rock.
As for practical matters, the nearest towns of any size, Stranda and Stryn, are twenty-five and thirty-four kilometres away, and fuel is available in Geiranger itself, though prices are high. Fill up in Stranda or Stryn if you can. The road is well surfaced but narrow, with tight bends, and it can be crowded with coaches, so approach with care. Weather changes quickly, with cloud and rain often hiding the view, so be patient, and wait for a break. Early morning is the quietest time, and in autumn the light is clear and the crowds thin. Be aware that the road is closed in winter.
- Geiranger fjord
sight
Geirangerfjord is one of those places where the photographs do not exaggerate. A narrow arm of the Storfjord, about fifteen kilometres long, it is squeezed between mountain walls that rise to well over a thousand metres, with waterfalls pouring down the cliffs. UNESCO listed it in 2005 along with the Nærøyfjord, and the tour ships that fill it in summer are a sign of how famous it has become.
The waterfalls have names, and the most famous are the Seven Sisters, a line of cascades on the south side, and the Suitor, which faces them across the water. Old farms, such as Skagehola and Knivsflå, cling to ledges high above the water, and it is hard to imagine how families once lived there, with children tethered by ropes so they would not fall. Most were abandoned in the twentieth century. The village at the head of the fjord is small and busy in season, and quiet when the ships leave.
The riding to get here is the real event. The road down from the north, the Eagle Road, drops through eleven hairpins with views of the fjord below, while the approach from the south crosses the mountain and descends in tight bends. A short toll road climbs from the village to Dalsnibba, a viewpoint at about 1,500 metres, which gives a huge panorama. Many of these roads close in winter because of snow, often from late autumn to around May, so check before you plan. Expect coaches and campervans in July, and be patient on narrow sections.
Fuel is a point to plan around. The village at the water is small, and the more reliable services lie further away, with Stranda about twenty-seven kilometres off and Stryn farther again, so arrive with a decent amount in the tank. The ferry between Hellesylt and Geiranger is a classic way to see the fjord, and a motorbike can ride onto it.
The best light comes in the early morning or late evening, when the crowds have thinned and the rock catches the sun low. Bring a waterproof, because mist and rain are part of the picture, and so is the smell of wet stone and spruce.
- Back to Trollstigen
finish · 858 m
The Trollstigen is best understood from below. Coming up from Åndalsnes, the road leaves the broad floor of the Isterdalen and rises through birch woods into a narrow valley, where a wall of rock closes in, and then begins to climb in earnest. Eleven hairpins, each with a name or a number painted on the stone, carry it up the slope, and the Stigfossen waterfall, which falls over three hundred metres, crashes beside the road and under a stone bridge, spraying anyone who stops. It is one of the great Alpine-style roads of Scandinavia, and it was a wild feat of engineering for its time.
Construction began in 1916 and went on for twenty years, with workers building retaining walls by hand and blasting a route through the rock. Hairpin after hairpin is supported by dry stone walls, many of which still stand, and the road opened in 1936. Åndalsnes, at the head of the Romsdalsfjord, is the starting point, a small town of two thousand people with a railway, a harbour, shops and fuel. Just beyond it is Trollveggen, the Troll Wall, the tallest vertical mountain face in Europe, a sheer cliff of about a thousand metres that draws climbers and base jumpers from around the world.
The riding is steep and tight, with a gradient of up to ten percent and sharp hairpin bends where larger vehicles must swing wide. The surface is smooth, but the road is narrow and the drops are real, so it demands care and a calm attitude, especially in rain, when the stone walls are wet and the cloud closes in. Meeting a coach on a hairpin is common, and it is wise to give way early. Summer weekends are crowded, so aim for early morning or the evening. The road closes for winter, usually reopening in May.
This stop is the finish of the climb, and there is a small viewpoint above the hairpins with a long view over the valley. The last bends are the steepest, and as you leave them the wide plateau opens before you. Fuel is not available on the road, so fill up in Åndalsnes before starting, and bring a warm layer, because the weather at the top can be cold even in July.
Stop in the evening, if you can. The long Norwegian summer light turns the rock gold, and the waterfalls glitter as they plunge into shadow. It is hard to look at it without feeling very small.