CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
168 km one way from Granvin - plan on about 3 h 05 of riding. On the way it passes Eidfjord, Voringfossen, Kinsarvik and Latefossen. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
This part of the ride is 27 km of Norwegian Scenic Route Hardanger.
For about 48 km this is Norwegian Scenic Route Hardanger, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Everything in Granvin is measured in apples and water. The village sits at the head of a short fjord arm off the Hardangerfjord, with a calm river, a lake and a ring of steep hills that hold the orchards in a warm pocket. Fewer than five hundred people live in the centre, so this is a place of a church, a few houses and a handful of farm shops rather than anything urban.
Read the complete Granvin write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Granvin is where the day begins. Next is Eidfjord.
Eidfjord lies at the inner end of the Hardangerfjord, one of the longest fjords in Norway, and the village, with only a few hundred people, sits at the foot of steep cliffs, where waterfalls fall from the plateau above and the water below is dark green and still. The setting is dramatic. In the early morning, mist hangs on the fjord, and the mountains rise on every side, while orchards of apple and cherry trees on the lower slopes recall that the Hardanger region is Norway's fruit garden. In spring, when the trees blossom, the contrast with the snow on the peaks is striking.
Read the complete Eidfjord write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Eidfjord comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Voringfossen.
Most people see Vøringfossen from the front, standing at a railing and watching the whole river fall into the Måbødalen gorge. A bit of understanding makes the view better. The river is the Bjoreio, which flows across the Hardangervidda, a plateau shaped by glaciers, and meets a step in the land where the ice cut the valley deep. The water falls about 145 metres in a single drop, with a total fall of around 180 metres, and the gorge below is a long, steep U shape, the classic profile of a glacier valley. The rock is hard, old and grey, and the walls shine wet in the spray.
Read the complete Voringfossen write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Voringfossen. Next is Kinsarvik.
Kinsarvik is a quiet village on the east shore of the Sørfjord, a branch of the Hardangerfjord, and what matters about it is its position, between the fjord and the mountains, at the foot of a valley that leads to the plateau. A small stone church stands here that dates from the twelfth century, one of the oldest in Norway, and a visitor can still walk in and feel the age of the walls. The village used to be a trading post and a meeting point, and the stone church is a clue to how important it was. Rich farmers and the church once ruled this coast, and this is one of the places where you can feel it.
Read the complete Kinsarvik write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kinsarvik, about halfway. Next is Latefossen.
Låtefossen is two waterfalls that fall side by side from the same stream, joining at the bottom under an old stone arch bridge, and the road runs straight across it. It is one of the few places in Norway where you can ride directly through the spray of a major waterfall. The total drop is about 165 metres, and the water thunders down the rock face in two white ropes that merge and rush under the bridge. On a wet day you will be soaked in seconds, and in summer the spray is a gift on a hot afternoon. There is a car park on the roadside, and a few steps lead to the bridge, so the stop is easy.
Read the complete Latefossen write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Låtefossen sits at 138 km, late in the day. Next is Odda.
Odda sits at the southern tip of the Sørfjord, a branch of the Hardangerfjord, and it is an industrial town in one of the most beautiful settings in Norway. About five thousand people live here, in a flat, green valley between steep mountains, with the Folgefonna glacier above and the Låtefossen waterfall nearby. The town grew in the early twentieth century around a carbide and fertiliser industry, using hydropower, and the factories left a mark on the landscape and the fjord. Today, the industry has shrunk, and the town is a base for outdoor activities, with a few cafes, hotels and shops.
Read the complete Odda write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 168 km.
Granvin → Eidfjord is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Eidfjord → Voringfossen is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vøringfossen → Kinsarvik is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kinsarvik → Latefossen is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Låtefossen → Odda is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.