The wind tosses your hair while you car passes majestic mountains, alluring fjords and far-reaching glaciers. By 2015 18 national tourist routes will guide drivers through Norway's intriguing landscape. Four of them are already complete.
24/07/2006 :: The Norwegian Public Roads Administration will upgrade 18 road stretches in Norway by 2015. The 18 National Tourist Routes leading through a vast variety of natural landscapes will give the travellers a break from the hustle on the main highways. A combined 1 660 kilometres of road twists and turns across mountains, follows the coast lines, finds its way between waterfalls and rapids or seeks the arctic waters in the far north.
Four routes currently hold the title National tourist route. These are:
National Tourist Route the Northern Coast of Helgeland—from cascading glaciers to the outmost islands
The mythical landscape along Norway's northern coast offers a plethora of cultural heritage sites along the way, and the powerful glacier Svartisen stretches towards the fjords where a string of islands bedecks the coast out to sea. Driving up the road you will cross the Arctic circle and enter the land of the midnight sun. The mild coastal climate provides an abundant flora, and the sharp mountain peaks and wild rivers offer many outdoor activity opportunities.
The classified road Rv 17 between Steinkjer and Bodø is known as the Coastal Highway. The northernmost part of the road between Stokkvågen, west of Mo i Rana, and Storvika south of Bodø make up the National tourist route.
National Tourist Route the Old Strynefjell Road—past stone walls and guard stones
Many old Norwegian poets and artists drew both inspiration and rest from the narrow road that twists at one with nature across the mountain Strynefjell. The stretch represents a piece of Norwegian natural history as the only way of passage between Skjåk and Stryn during most of the last century. Today there is an all-year road, however, the old stretch still provides both the vista and the atmosphere. Here you will find wild nature only inhabited by birds and animals adapted to the arctic climate.
National Tourist Route Sognfjellet—Across the roof of Norway
The majestic mountain landscape hovers along blue ice, jagged peaks and emerald lakes. The road runs between the world's longest fjord, Sognefjorden, and Gudbrandsdalen, and along the way you will find more records: Galdhøpiggen is Norway's highest mountain, and the country's largest glacier, Jostedalsbreen, are both part of the route. The activities are plentiful, both for the socially inclined and for those looking for peace and quiet.
National Tourist Route Hardanger—waterfalls, glaciers and fjords
Hardanger stretches across Europe's largest mountain plateau to several fjords, and the breathtakingly steep waterfall Vøringsfossen marks the transition to valley terrain. The fjords lie side by side, and on the plateau you might sneak a peak at the wild reindeer herds that live here. There are also several museums, and the national park provides an extensive network of marked trails and tourist huts.
The classified road Rv 7 between Halne on the Hardangervidda plateau, and Steindalsfossen west of Nordheimsund, has been designated as a National tourist route.
The information is gathered from the The Norwegian Public Roads Administration's www.turistveg.no
Photos: Helgeland Coast/ Sognefjellet/ Hardanger: Bård Løken. Stryne: Øystein Søbye
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs