Norway: Oslo – Bergen – Oslo through fjords and mountains

The Oslo–Bergen circle. A road trip of about 1,085 km that starts and ends at Oslo airport and crosses southern Norway twice: west to the fjord country of Bergen through the valleys of Hallingdal and the Sognefjord region, and back across the Hardangervidda plateau, the largest mountain plateau in Europe. The highest point is about 1,230 m. Allow at least four days; a week is better.

The route. Gardermoen – Ringerike – Hallingdal (Gol) – Lærdal – Voss – the Bergen area (Vaksdal) – Eidfjord – Hardangervidda – Ål – Flå – Oslo – Gardermoen.

Highlights. The Gardnos crater in Hallingdal, where a meteorite hit about 500 million years ago. Borgund Stave Church at Lærdal, built about 1180 and one of the best preserved wooden churches in the country. The Lærdal Tunnel, at 24.5 km the longest road tunnel in the world. Voss, the Norwegian capital of extreme sports. The Måbødalen valley and the 182-m Vøringsfossen waterfall above Eidfjord.

Good to know. The high roads over the plateau can close for snow from October to May. Many tunnels and ferries slow the trip down, and fuel and food are expensive. The music is Norwegian.

Picture: Vøringsfossen and the Måbødalen valley, Holger Uwe Schmitt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.