Flam
Flåm lies at the head of the Aurlandsfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord, which at about 205 km long and 1,308 metres deep is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. The village is best known for the Flåm Railway, which runs about 20 km from the fjord up to Myrdal on the Oslo-Bergen line at gradients of up to 5.5%, one of the steepest standard-gauge railways in the world, through 20 tunnels, 18 of them dug by hand. Flåm is also the end of Rallarvegen, the navvies' road built for the construction of the Bergen Railway and opened to cyclists in 1974: about 80 km from Haugastøl over the mountains via Finse and Myrdal, it is one of Norway's most famous bike rides. Nearby, the Nærøyfjord, another arm of the Aurlandsfjord, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
This ride follows the shore of the Aurlandsfjord from Flåm to Aurland, passing below Otternes, a cluster of 27 farm buildings, the oldest from around 1700, halfway between the two villages. Aurland is the start of the Aurlandsfjellet "Snow Road" over the mountains, a climb of about 1,295 metres in 16.5 km that passes the Stegastein viewpoint, a platform jutting 30 metres out from the mountainside some 650 metres above the fjord. The village is also the home of the Aurland shoe, made since 1908, which inspired the American loafer, and just beyond it begins the Lærdal Tunnel, at 24.5 km the longest road tunnel in the world, opened in 2000. With almost no climbing, this short ride is a perfect easy spin or warm-up.
Region: Sogn og Fjordane
City: Aurland