Bergen–Trondheim

The fjords and Hardangervidda east to Oslo, then north over Dovrefjell to Nidaros.

The facts

When it is busy

Busiest: July. Quietest: January. Guest arrivals per month as a share of the route's own busiest month. Figures from Statistics Norway, averaged over seven full years. They count people who stay overnight, so day trippers and cruise passengers are not included.

Stops along the way

• Bergen · 0 h
  Bryggen, the fish market and seven mountains — the natural end of the journey.
• Fløyen · -0.1 h
  The Fløibanen funicular lifts you 320 m in eight minutes — views over the whole city and trails leading inland.
• Bryggen · 0 h
  Hanseatic timber houses on the UNESCO list — leaning galleries and the Hanseatic Museum in the heart of Bergen.
• Arna · 0.3 h
  Bergen's eastern district and the far end of the Ulriken tunnel — the start of the climb to Ulriken at 643 m.
• Dale · 0.8 h
  An industrial village in Vaksdal known for its knitwear mill — the last valley stop before Bergen.
• Norheimsund · -0.7 h
  Steinsdalsfossen, a waterfall you can walk behind, and the Hardanger Maritime Centre building wooden boats.
• Hardangerfjorden · -0.4 h
  Norway's second-longest fjord — fruit farms along the waterline and the Folgefonna glacier on the far side.
• Ulvik · 0.7 h
  A fruit-growing village at the head of the Hardangerfjord — cider houses, apple blossom in May and still fjord water.
• Voss · 1.4 h
  Norway's extreme sports capital — rafting, paragliding and a cable car up Hangurstoppen from the centre.
• Tvindefossen · 1.2 h
  A 152-metre waterfall just north of Voss, right by the road — five minutes from car park to the foot of the falls.
• Mjølfjell · 1.7 h
  A small halt in the Raundalen valley with a hostel and a river — the way into the mountains between Voss and Myrdal.
• Stalheim · -0.3 h
  Stalheimskleiva — 13 hairpin bends and an 18 % gradient climbing out of the Nærøydalen valley.
• Nærøyfjorden · -0.1 h
  A UNESCO fjord, 250 metres across at its narrowest. Boat from Flåm to Gudvangen between vertical walls.
• Undredal · 0.7 h
  39 residents, 500 goats and Norway's smallest stave church still in use. The brown cheese is still made here.
• Stegastein · 0.5 h
  A viewing platform 650 m directly above the Aurlandsfjord, jutting 30 metres out into thin air.
• Aurland · 0.8 h
  A fjord village with an old shoemaking tradition — a quieter base than Flåm, with the same view.
• Flåm · 1 h
  The Flåm Railway down to the Aurlandsfjord — 20 tunnels and a 5.5 % gradient over 20 km.
• Myrdal · 2 h
  The junction station at 866 m where the Flåm Railway branches off and plunges towards the fjord.
• Hallingskeid · 2.3 h
  An unstaffed high-mountain halt in the middle of the wilderness — a trekking hut and snow sheds from the navvy era.
• Finse · 2.6 h
  Norway's highest railway station at 1222 m. The Hardangerjøkulen glacier sits right behind it — no road reaches here.
• Eidfjord · 1.6 h
  Where the Hardangerfjord ends and the plateau begins — a cruise port and the Hardangervidda Nature Centre.
• Vøringsfossen · 1.9 h
  A 182-metre free fall into the Måbødalen gorge, with a footbridge crossing straight over the lip.
• Hardangervidda · 2.9 h
  Europe's largest mountain plateau — wild reindeer, endless open country and marked trails between the cabins.
• Haugastøl · 3 h
  The starting point of Rallarvegen — the cycling road the navvies built alongside the Bergen Line.
• Ustaoset · 3.2 h
  A quiet high-mountain stop by Lake Ustevatn, 990 m above sea level — cabins, open plateau and views of Hallingskarvet.
• Hallingskarvet · 3.1 h
  A national park with a 35 km sheer rock wall. The Prestholt trail climbs right onto the plateau.
• Geilo · 3.4 h
  A high-mountain destination between two national parks — short hikes straight from the station, skiing in winter.
• Ål · 3.7 h
  A traditional village of rosemaling and summer farms — the last stop before the high mountains.
• Gol · 4 h
  The junction where the road to Valdres leaves Hallingdal. Stave church replica and mountain biking.
• Nesbyen · 4.3 h
  Hallingdal Museum and Norway's heat record — 35.6 °C. A good base for day hikes into the valley sides.
• Flå · 4.7 h
  The bear park and the start of Hallingdal — a quiet valley stop with forest and river.
• Hønefoss · 5.4 h
  First stop on the Bergen Line — a waterfall in the middle of town and the gateway to Ringerike.
• Oslo · 6.9 h
  Start in the capital — the Opera House, Akershus Fortress and Vigeland Park before the train heads west.
• Hamar · 8.1 h
  The town on Lake Mjøsa — the cathedral ruins under a glass vault and a skating hall shaped like an upturned Viking ship.
• Lillehammer · 9.1 h
  The 1994 Olympic town, with Norway's steepest pedestrian street and a ski jump hanging over the centre.
• Maihaugen · 9.2 h
  Scandinavia's largest open-air museum — 200 buildings, from a stave church to a complete 1980s apartment block.
• Ringebu · 9.8 h
  A stave church from 1220 with a red spire, in the narrowest stretch of the Gudbrandsdalen valley.
• Vinstra · 10.1 h
  Peer Gynt country — Ibsen took the character from a farmer said to have lived in these valley sides.
• Otta · 10.5 h
  The junction for Jotunheimen and Rondane — buses leave here for Norway's highest mountains.
• Rondane · 10.9 h
  Norway's first national park, ten peaks above 2000 metres, and the light that made Sohlberg paint "Winter Night in the Mountains".
• Dombås · 11 h
  Where the Rauma Line branches off towards Åndalsnes and the Troll Wall — a junction on the edge of Dovrefjell.
• Hjerkinn · 11.3 h
  Norway's driest place, 1017 m up on Dovrefjell — the starting point for musk ox safaris.
• Viewpoint Snøhetta · 11.5 h
  A wind-sculpted timber pavilion on the plateau, framing Snøhetta at 2286 m through one panoramic window — half an hour's walk from the road.
• Dovrefjell · 11.4 h
  A national park with Europe's last wild musk oxen and reindeer — the mountain Norway's constitution swore by.
• Kongsvoll · 11.6 h
  An 18th-century mountain lodge at the source of the Driva, ringed by a botanical garden of arctic plants.
• Oppdal · 12 h
  A ski destination and Viking burial ground — over 900 grave mounds lie in the pine forest at Vang.
• Røros · 11.9 h
  A UNESCO-listed mining town of tar-brown timber houses and slag heaps — 333 years of copper. Reached on the Røros Line.
• Støren · 12.8 h
  Where the Røros Line rejoins the Dovre Line, in the Gauldalen valley with its salmon river and steep sides.
• Nidarosdomen · 13.6 h
  Scandinavia's largest medieval cathedral, built over St Olav's grave and the end of the pilgrim route.
• Trondheim · 13.5 h
  The wharves along the Nidelva, the bicycle lift up Brubakken, and Norway's oldest university city.