Ålesund – Kingdom of the Trolls

A full day tour of wild mountains, roaring waterfalls and treanquil nature.

This tour starts in Ålesund, the largest town on the Northwest coast in a beautiful setting, built on several islands stretching out into the ocean. A large part of Ålesund was destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style, typical of the first decade of 20^th century. Today it is a bustling town where the fish and fish processing industry are the main sources of income.

From Ålesund our tour continues to Stordal for a photo stop at the exquisite, 200-year old medieval “Rose Church”.  We then continue further along the Norddalsfjord to the valley of Valldal, known for its tastefull strawberries. We continue our drive through the valley with a photo stop at the spectacular Gudbrand Gorge (Gudbrandsjuvet), where the foaming river gushes deep below. Our tour then takes us into a mountain world of eternal ice and snow. On arrival at Trollstigheimen, we will have a stop to admire the wonderful views.

Soon after, the descent begins via the famous Trollstigen Road, one of the main attractions in the Rauma District.  The road takes us 852 meters downhill – through 11 hairpin bends framed by the Bishop, King and Queen Peaks. It took 8 years to build this road until it was opened in 1936 by then king Haakon VII. The road remains an example of great engineering and road building. We will make a stop at the Stigfossen Waterfall, which has a spectacular drop of 320 meters.

A short stop will also be made at the Trollwall, the highest vertically overhanging wall in Europe – at over 1,000 meters high, the rock tempts climbers from all over the world.

The tour continues along the Innfjord back towards Ålesund passing farms and busy villages along the way. We will have the last stop on Mt. Aksla at the Fjellstua Mountain Lodge to enjoy the magnificent view over the town of Ålesund and its islands.