Rallarvegen from Finse to Flåm is Norway's most beautiful bike ride. Experience fjords, mountains and culture in spectacular surroundings. Start at Finse and enjoy an unforgettable trip through the magic of the high mountains. Perfect for cycling enthusiasts and nature lovers!
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© Paul Lockhart
Rallarvegen - From Finse to Flåm
"Rallarvegen must be the world's most beautiful bike ride," he says, the cyclist who has just sat down on the pier in Flåm. He looks out over the turquoise green fjord, before his eyes land on a mountain top that is still decorated with snow. He has cycled a lot around the world. Today, Rallarvegen in the Norwegian high mountains is on the program for the bicycle tourist from Belgium.
The trip has been voted Norway's most beautiful bike ride several times and is one of the nicest things we can experience on two wheels. Five hours earlier, we get off Vy's bike train at Finse, the train we had taken from Geilo. The day is brilliant, the bluebells stretch towards the sky of the same bright color. The blue ice, which clings to the Hardangerjøkulen glacier, is reflected in the sun. Finsevann is there blank and together with the Navvy Museum welcomes us for an experience of history, culture and nature, where we are at the Bergen Railway's highest railway station, Finse 1222 meters above sea level.
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© Paul Lockhart
Finse is the start of the stretch of Rallarvegen, which is most popular as a day trip, the stretch Finse – Flåm. 52 km. from the high mountains via spectacular waterfalls to the fjord appear in Flåm. One hour and 10 km. after the start from Finse, we have pedaled our way up to Rallarvegen's highest point at 1343 meters above sea level. We look out over Fagervatn as a flock of sheep comes bleating past. Grazing animals are a well-being factor on trips in Norway, Rallarvegen no exception. And that was before we knew about the social goats that were waiting in the lush Flåm Valley.
As soon as the descent begins, and we have done away with 10 km. of the trip, awaits the keeper's house Fagernut.
In the summer season, it offers navvy waffles and is the perfect place for a break. Well, it was quite a life for the railway guards along the Bergen Railway, something the exhibition both at the Navvy Museum and at the guard's residence gives us an insight into.
Good and full of packed lunch and waffle, we pedal on towards Hallingskeid, which is also an opportunity to start the trip on Rallarvegen if you want a shorter bike ride. Here the bike train stops for a variant of the 32 km trip. starting at 1110 meters above sea level. From Hallingskeid, we cycle over the Kleva Bridge, which is a beautiful bridge made of stone. What an impressive work that has been done by hand along Rallarvegen! Down Klevagjelet we slow down, both to enjoy the river that rumbles on our side and because it is a place to be careful. Before we embark on the 21 turns down to the Flåm Valley, there will be a stop for cold drinks, ice cream and a breather on the slopes at Vatnahalsen. Down in the Flåm valley, we are really in the lush western part of Norway.
The Flåm Railway, Northern Europe's steepest railway, winds its way up the valley in the 865 metres of elevation difference. We greet the goats and put on heavier gears for an easy part of cycling the last part of the trip to beautiful Flåm.
Back on the pier, where we are a little tired and very happy to sum up the bike ride we have just left behind. Rallarvegen is high mountains, waterfalls, flora, fauna, fellow cyclists and the fjord landscape. As we have delivered bikes for return transport and we step into the carriage on the Flåm Railway for the train trip that changes as we started, in Geilo, the conclusion from the cyclist from Belgium is; "What a bike ride, what a day, it doesn't get any nicer than this. In addition, with the bike train and the rest leg with the two trains back to Geilo, this is the trip many can take as one of the very finest experiences on two wheels, not only in Norway, it is among the best in the world"!