Travelling by coach, the group passed majestic mountains and pristine sandy beaches, entering the six-kilometre-long Måbødalen valley to reach the spot 18 km from Eidfjord port.
The trip, which started in Stavanger on April 21, includes Haugesund, Eidfjord, Flam, Nordfjordeid and Hareid, and concludes on April 27.
Veringsfossen
In the colder months, the waterfall is partially or fully frozen and the valley blanketed by snow, taking on the appearance of a winter paradise. Safety fences may be covered at that time so extra caution is needed.
In summer, the waterfall is thunderous as ice melts, plunging 182 mtr from the Hardangervidda plateau down the mountain into the Måbødalen valley. In 2020, a step bridge was built crossing the river above the waterfall to provide staggering views over the fissure.
Veringsfossen
A number of viewing platforms are scattered around the natural wonder, with one a stone’s throw from the Fossli Hotel. Near it, a brand-new parking area is being built with more space for buses and a WC. The work will be completed by September.
Norwegian Nature Center
Since May 2023, the Norwegian Nature Center has been playing the first 12K film to be screened in Norway. In the course of 20 minutes, it takes viewers on a journey through the country’s changing terrain over different seasons, showing native wildlife up close. The center, which was the second attraction on the programme for the fam trip, receives at least 55,000 visitors a year and is situated around 7km from the port.
‘The cruise industry does a good job in Norway. I speak with a lot of your guests and they feel the value of being in Eidfjord,’ said a senior figure from the Norwegian Nature Center. But, he told the cruise line representatives, ‘It’s important for the local people and the local government that you use local people [businesses/services] in Eidfjord.’ He explained that this generates business, benefiting the community.
Norwegian Nature Center
A second, smaller cinema room is currently screening the artwork of painters Peder Balke and Hans Gude. Natural history, geology, prehistoric rock painting and climate change are just some of the themes explored throughout the various exhibitions.
The representative for the center said that the venue likes to embark on new projects every five years.
Viking centre
The Ravenheart Hardanger Viking exhibition at Tunet pä Haugen, established in 2020, delivers comprehensive insight into Viking history in the region through video and several replica Viking tools, weapons, jewellery, carvings, attire and handicrafts. Tours are led by a husband-and-wife team who completed studies in Viking history. They are skilled at fashioning items using traditional methods.
Archaeological finds suggest Eidfjord was a hive of activity in the Viking Age, and a handful of the oldest Viking graves in Norway are within easy reach of the attraction. Nearby is the largest gravesite from the Iron Age and the Viking Age in Western Europen with almost 400 graves from 400-1,000 AD.
Styled like a Viking long house, the exhibition is exclusively for smaller groups of 12 people or less.
For something special, the exhibition can host functions, or teach groups how to make fire or prepare bread. A late Viking Age dagger on display there is a highlight.
Ravenheart Hardanger Viking exhibition
Cider tasting
Lunch and cider tasting at Syse Gard in Ulvik 33 km from the port followed. The group was given a short tour of the cider farm and shown the pressing room and fermentation equipment.
Lunch and cider tasting at Syse Gard, Ulvik
Viking Village
The group then stepped back in time with a trip to the Viking Village (Gudvangen Njardarheim) – a living museum where its members can live and work like Vikings, from mixing oxen blood and linseed oil for paint to wearing authentic Viking attire. Passengers can find out about what life was life as a Viking, their weapons, traditions, social system and crafts, as well as what made their longships the best in the world.
Archery and axe throwing are among the activities open to visitors. Passengers can be served lunch in a vast Viking-themed dining hall containing ingredients that would have been used in food preparation by Vikings, plus tea, coffee, fruit juice and mead. 45 minutes is recommended for a guided tour, conducted either in English, Norwegian, German, French or Italian.
Viking Village
Port update
The Port of Eidfjord has a quay of 120 mtr in length with a 10.7 mtr depth and it can handle ships of up to 350 mtr. The air draft is 55 mtr. The tourism office at the port stays open during cruise calls. Shore power will be installed in the near future. There were 91 cruise calls and 176,000 passengers last year and approximately the same number is expected this year.
The tender port is to the rear of the Brakanes Hotel in the village of Ulvik, affording spectacular views of the Hardanger fjord. This week, repairs will be carried out to reconnect the floating dock to the jetty. Repairs will be carried out this week
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