Tyinvegen — Road 53

Road 53 — also called Tyinvegen — is the stretch of road that runs between road 5 at Fodnes in Lærdal and Tyinkrysset in Vang, via Øvre Årdal. The length of the road is 71.6 km, of which 13.3 km in the Eastern Norway and 58.3 km in the West. The section is best known for the Tyin — Årdal mountain pass.

Tyinvegen starts where road 53 takes off from E16 at Tyinkrysset. It passes the former Tyin Hotell, continues along the southwest bank of the lake Tyin and crosses over the mountain and down to Øvre Årdal. It continues along the southern shore of Årdalsvatnet to Årdalstangen and then along the southern shore of Årdalsfjorden. The road ends in the junction with road 5 approx. 1.5 km from Lærdal.

The picture on top of this page is of “Tusenmeterstigen” – “the 1000 meter ladder”. From above it almost looks like a ladder, and this impressive piece of road took 30 years to build. It climbs 1000 meter straight up the mountain from Øvre Årdal and instantly became a tourist attraction when opened back in 1934. I’m mentioning the ladder here, since this is actually where Tyinvegen used to go! Now this part of the road is only open for hiking and bicycling. Motorized vehicles are not allowed. Read more about the ladder here.

It was the German’s during WW2 that built the first road on this stretch between Årdalstangen and Øvre Årdal.

It is perfect to combine Tyinvegen with both Tindevegen and Norwegian Scenic Route Sognefjellet. You might also be interested in Old Lærdalsøri, Vindhellavegen and Borgund stave church.