Aursjøvegen

So, you thought Trollstigen (the Troll’s ladder) was breathtaking? Aursjøvegen is next level. Loved by adventure motorcyclists and 4×4 enthusiasts for the feeling of wilderness. Parts of the road is not for the faint-hearted; it is steep, narrow, partly gravel, partly without fences – and it’s a long, long way down to the bottom of the valley…:-)

But enough of the scary crap; this is truly an amazing road that you will remember forever. It is close to 100 km long, so you will spend 3-3.5 hours driving. But add an hour or two as you want to stop to take pictures, and maybe even enjoy some of the many sights along the way (described further down).

Tollroad

55 km of the road is a toll-road. 100,- NOK one-way. You can only pay by card – as the gate is automatic – so bring your plastic.

Aursjøvegen is surrounded by Dovrefjell-Sundalsfjella National Park – which is also a conservation area, so be care- and respectful. Bring your garbage back and don’t leave marks and scars!

What makes Aursjøvegen so remarkable, is that you drive from one fjord to the next, and in between climbing some really wild and beautiful mountains. The road is a construction road, built in 1947 for the Aura power station, so the road quality is not the best. (Like us adventure motorcyclist’s love, right?)
In fact, on their website, they have some security warnings;

• The road is not recommended for busses or trailers
• The road is sometimes narrow and without a fence
• Parts of the road are really steep, and you often don’t have a good overview
• Meeting traffic might surprise you
• In some areas there is a danger of landslide
• If heavy rain or danger of landslide, the road might be closed
• In general, drive carefully, be considerate and go slowly to admire the beautiful nature and the rich cultural history in the area.

Do a round trip

If you have a look at the map to the right, you’ll see that you can easily turn this into a round trip. In one of the pictures below, you’ll see a map with some interesting locations to check out. This is the short explanation for each of them:

1. The small town Øksendalsøra
2. The town Sunndalsøra
3. Power station
4. Trædal hotel and tourist centre
5. Torbudalen mountain camp
6. Torbuvollen shielding
7. Aursjø cabin
8. The Aursjø dam
9. Aursjø plunge
10. Finnset cabins
11. Mardalsfossen – waterfall
12. The English house
13. Rock carvings
14. Nesset priest house
15. Eidssvåg fjord hotel
16. Jette pot
17. Railway
18. The Bjørnson track
    

If you ride here to do this route, you are not far from some other great locations in the area. Like the Atlantic Road (Norwegian Senic Route), Gudbrandsjuvet, Trollstigen, Geiranger fjord (UNESCO), Flydalsjuvet, Dalsnibba and the old Strynefjell mountain road (Norwegian Scenic Route).