Flåm and the Nærøyfjord: Norway's Gentlest Grand View

Some landscapes ask you to climb for them. Flåm does not. This village of fewer than three hundred people sits at the very end of the Aurlandsfjord, an arm of the long Sognefjord, with mountains standing almost vertically on either side. You step off a train or a boat and the view is simply there, waiting, at sea level.

Around the corner lies the Nærøyfjord: about seventeen kilometres long, narrowing to roughly 250 metres between walls that rise to some 1,760 metres. In 2005 UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List, together with the Geirangerfjord, as an outstanding example of a landscape carved by glaciers. Most visitors see it from the deck or the lounge of a quiet electric boat, which is exactly as it should be.

This is one of those rare places where the most beautiful way to travel is also the most comfortable one. Trains, boats and a shuttle bus do the hard work; you bring a warm jacket and a camera.

A little history

For most of its life Flåm was a farming hamlet, reached by water and by steep tracks over the mountains. A church was built here in 1670, replacing an older stave church, and it still stands in the valley a short walk from the harbour, surrounded by grass and apple trees.

Everything changed with the railway. Parliament approved a line from the main Bergen Line down to the fjord in 1908, but money was not granted until 1923, and the work took years of hand-drilling and blasting through hard rock. Passenger trains began running in February 1941. The Flåm Line climbs from the fjord to Myrdal station at about 865 metres over just twenty kilometres, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 18 and twenty tunnels: Europe's steepest standard-gauge railway.

The second change came in 2000, when a new pier allowed large cruise ships to berth directly in the village. Flåm now receives close to half a million visitors a year, which is a remarkable number for a place this size. It is worth knowing in advance: the village in August at midday is busy, and the same village at eight in the morning or in late September is almost silent.

Gudvangen, the village at the head of the Nærøyfjord where the Nærøydalselvi river meets the water.

What to see

The Flåm Railway

The ride between Flåm and Myrdal takes roughly an hour each way. The train climbs past the Flåm valley farms, swings through tunnels and emerges above waterfalls and sheer drops. There is a stop at Kjosfossen, created in 1951 purely so that travellers can get out and look at the waterfall; the platform is damp and often windy, and you are perfectly entitled to stay in your seat and watch through the glass. Carriages are old-fashioned, with wooden benches and large windows, and seats are not reserved, so boarding early rewards you with a window on the fjord side.

A cruise through the Nærøyfjord

The two-hour sailing between Flåm and Gudvangen is the heart of a visit. Modern vessels on this route are fully electric, so the boat glides almost in silence past abandoned farms, goat tracks and waterfalls that fall straight into the water. Inside there are heated lounges with tall panoramic windows; outside there are open decks. Dress as though for a cold spring day even in July, because the fjord wind is cool and the cliffs keep the sun off the water.

Stegastein viewpoint

Stegastein is a platform of steel and laminated pine, thirty metres long, hanging some 650 metres above the Aurlandsfjord. It is about a twenty-minute drive from Flåm on a narrow, hairpinned road, and a shuttle bus runs up from the village so you need not drive it yourself. From the car park it is only a few level steps onto the platform, and the view down the fjord is the one you will remember longest.

Flåm village and the railway museum

The village itself is flat and compact: harbour, a handful of shops and eating places, and a small free railway museum beside the station with old photographs, tools and one of the original locomotives. It is an easy, sheltered hour on a wet morning.

The small harbour at Flåm, at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjord.

Gentle walks and easy viewpoints

Flåm is not a hiking village in the demanding sense, and you do not need it to be. The pleasures here are short and level.

• The Flåm valley path. From the harbour, a paved road and path follow the Flåmselvi river inland for about 1.5 kilometres, entirely flat, passing the old church and farms with the mountain walls above you. This is the loveliest easy walk in the village, and you simply turn around when you have had enough.
• Brekkefossen, with a warning. Guides often recommend this waterfall, and the first flat stretch along the river is delightful. But the final climb is a steep rocky path with hundreds of stone steps and roughly 150 to 180 metres of ascent. We would not suggest it. Walk the flat part, look up at the fall from the valley floor, and keep your knees for the boat.
• The fjord path towards Otternes. A marked foot and cycle path runs about four kilometres along the shore from Flåm towards the old farm cluster at Otternes, with fjord views most of the way. The path itself is manageable in short sections; the final road up to the farms is steep, so most readers will prefer to walk out for a kilometre or two and return.
• The Snow Road. Beyond Stegastein, the National Tourist Route from Aurland to Lærdal climbs to around 1,300 metres across bare rock and snow patches, with laybys and short level boardwalks. It is a summer road only, normally closed through the winter months, and the section above Stegastein closes first. Check locally before setting out.

The mountain road above Flåm, looking down over the Aurlandsfjord and towards the Nærøyfjord.

A day trip nearby: Undredal and Aurland

The best short outing from Flåm is to Undredal, a hamlet of under a hundred people on the Aurlandsfjord, reachable by boat or by a short drive and a steep side road down to the water. Its stave church dates from 1147 and is the smallest stave church still in use in Scandinavia; you can stand inside it in a couple of minutes and feel nine centuries settle around you. Undredal is equally famous for goat cheese, including a sweet, caramel-coloured brown cheese sold in the village shop. The waterfront is flat; the village lanes are not, so take them slowly.

Aurland, a few kilometres from Flåm at the foot of the Stegastein road, is a quieter alternative to the cruise-ship bustle, with a stone church, a level shoreline and a shop or two. Many travellers who dislike crowds choose to sleep in Aurland and come into Flåm for the train and the boat.

Further afield, Voss lies roughly an hour and three quarters away by road or rail, and its gondola lifts you from beside the station to Hangurstoppen at about 820 metres in under ten minutes — the one true cable car in the region, since Flåm itself has none.

One of the vessels that carries visitors through the Nærøyfjord, seen at Flåm.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• Stay in Flåm or Aurland, not up a hillside. Flåm's hotels and guesthouses are within a few hundred level metres of the station and the pier, which means no luggage hauling and no uphill walks after dinner.
• Book the train and the boat in advance in summer. Both fill up. Reserved seats on the Flåm Railway are not guaranteed, so arrive at the platform ten or fifteen minutes early to choose a window.
• Do the fjord cruise in the morning. The light is kinder, the boats are less full, and you will still have the afternoon for the railway.
• Take the shuttle bus to Stegastein rather than driving. The road is narrow with tight hairpins and oncoming coaches; let someone else steer. The walk from the bus to the platform is short and level.
• Dress for autumn whatever the month. On the water and at 650 metres it is cool, often damp, and windy. A windproof jacket, a hat and non-slip shoes make all the difference; platforms and decks get slippery.
• The ground is mostly kind, with exceptions. Flåm's centre, pier and valley road are flat and firm. The waterfall paths, the road up to Otternes farms and Undredal's lanes are steep. Skip them without guilt.
• Go at the edges of the day and the season. Mid-morning to mid-afternoon in July and August is when several thousand cruise passengers share a very small village. Early mornings, evenings, late May and September are a different, calmer place.
• Daylight is a gift in June and short in winter. Long summer evenings let you enjoy the fjord after the crowds leave; in winter, plan to be out in the middle of the day.

What to eat

Fjord food here is simple, generous and built for cool weather. Salmon and trout from the fjords appear smoked, cured as gravlaks, or baked; expect them with potatoes, dill and sour cream rather than anything elaborate.

The local speciality worth seeking out is Undredal's goat cheese, both the white fresh cheese and the sweet brown one, which Norwegians slice thinly onto bread or waffles. Waffles with brown cheese or jam and a cup of coffee is a very Norwegian mid-afternoon ritual, and a kind one for anyone who does not want a heavy meal.

Flåm's best-known place to eat is Ægir BrewPub, built in the shape and spirit of a stave church, with carved dragon heads and a fire burning. It brews its own beer and serves hearty Norwegian-inspired plates — game, slow-cooked pork, big puddings. Elsewhere in the village you will find a bakery, a café or two and hotel dining rooms. Portions are large, menus are short, and tap water is excellent and free: Norway is expensive, and a bakery lunch with a hotel dinner is the sensible rhythm.

Getting there

Panorama of the port at Flåm with the ferry used for sailings through the Nærøyfjord.

Our verdict

Flåm is a very small village carrying a very large reputation, and in high summer it can feel that way. But the landscape around it is beyond argument, and almost all of it can be reached sitting down. If you have ever looked at photographs of Norway and thought the scenery was for younger legs, this is the place that proves otherwise.

Give it two or three nights rather than the single rushed day most tour itineraries allow. Sleep in Flåm or Aurland, take the first boat of the morning through the Nærøyfjord, ride the railway in the afternoon, and spend an hour on the flat valley road by the river when the cruise ships have gone and the fjord turns to glass. Travellers who need level ground, short distances and a warm seat by a window will find this one of the easiest great landscapes in Europe to enjoy.

“Two hours of silence between walls of stone, and the mountains leaning in to watch you pass.”

Photo credits

• Nærøyfjord - The world's most beautiful fjord 32021626896: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Flåm 2013 06 03 3034: Harvey Barrison from Massapequa, NY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Flåm harbour: Vanno at nl.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Flåm- Aurlandfjord, Höhenstraße mit Blick in den Aurlandfjord und den Nærøyfjord - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 086500a: Willy Pragher, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• The ferry that took us through Nærøyfjord Flåm 32021616916: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Panorama of Flåm port and the ferry that took us through the Nærøyfjord 31994544905: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons