Tusenmeteren
The most spectacular cycle path in Norway?
By bike to Tusenmeteren
MOVIE: Visit Sognefjord / Bulder & Brak Experiences
Today, Tunnelvegen is Tusenmeteren a popular hiking trail for both walkers and cyclists. You can choose the difficult variant up Røyrgatevegen from Øvre Årdal and up to Tusenmeteren , or you can start at Sletterust and walk back. Tusenmeteren on Tunnel Road.
Starting point: Sletterust (Damkeeper's house)
Time spent there/back: 3 hours by bike
Season: July-October
Park at highway 53 at Sletterust and walk or cycle to Tusenmeteren By bike you follow the old mountain road with some very airy sections to the viewpoint at Tusenmeteren with a view of the Hurrungane, Bøttejuvet and Utladalen You can then choose to cycle down the 26 hairpin bends to the road or take the trip back to Sletterust.
Contact Bulder & Brak Opplevingar if you would like to rent a bike or join a guided bike tour to/from Sletterust- Tusenmeteren .
Condition report Tunnelvegen:
Parts of the Tunnel Road are narrow and largely unsafe with rough and uneven surfaces and ruts. You will therefore have to take it more leisurely than on a modern cycle path , and the trip is not suitable for inexperienced cyclists. The most demanding parts are found just before and inside the tunnel about 5.5 km into the cycle tour and further from the viewpoint at 1000m and down to FV53 (long descent and sharp turns).
Stay towards the mountain where possible, and get off your bike in those parts of the road where you are not comfortable cycling.
The road is prone to rockfalls, especially during heavy rainfall, and it is not cleared/maintained.
About Røyrgatevegen to Tusenmeteren
Røyrgatevegen from Øvre Årdal to Tusenmeteren
History
The Upper Road Årdal - Valdres over Heirsnosi was opened in 1934. The first time the demand for a road from Øvre to Valdres was raised was in 1887. Construction work began in 1910 by Tyinfaldene A/S.
Highest point on Røyrgatevegen Øvre Årdal -The Tyin crossing is located at 1117 meters above sea level (at Tyin Lake), and from Øvre Årdal The difference in altitude is over 1000 meters up to Heirsnosi. The road winds in 42 bends up the steep mountainside.
The mountain road got a bus route
When the mountain road to Tyinkrysset and Valdres opened in 1934, Peder Opheim and the Valdres route by Ivar Opdal started running routes between Øvre Årdal and Tyin Hotel. Ole H. Hestetun and Alf O. Vee also drove taxis at this time.
The mountain road between Årdal and Tyin immediately became a major tourist attraction when it opened in 1934.
Bad accident
In 1957, three people died when a Norwegian passenger car collided with a French car and fell off the road. The Frenchman had not complied with the rules regarding hourly driving on the narrow mountain road. This meant that traffic only went one way for an hour at a time to avoid oncoming traffic.
New road in 1962
New road between Årdal and the Tyinkrysset intersection was opened in 1962. This road has three hairpin bends that are made in a tunnel up to 400 meters above sea level. From there, the road rises gently along the mountainside to Holsbru, and then follows the east side of Moadalen up to Mannsberg and further towards Tyinosen, where it essentially follows the same route as the old road to Tyin.