Kjeåsen Farm

Lonely Planet review

Above all other sights in the region, Kjeåsen Farm, 6km northeast of Eidfjord and close to the treeline 530m above the valley floor, should not be missed. According to some accounts, there has been a farm here for 400 years, although vehicle access was only possible with the construction of the road in 1975. Now one of Norway's top scenic locations, the wonderfully remote farm buildings are still inhabited by a woman who has lived alone there for 40 years.

Alone that is apart from the busloads of tourists who visit the farm every day in summer. She sometimes shows visitors around from 09:00 to 17:00 . It's possible to climb up to the farm on foot (four hours return), but it's steep and quite perilous involving at least one rope-bridge; ask the tourist office for directions. The vehicle road goes through a one-way tunnel, driving up on the hour, down on the half-hour; ignore the signs that list the last time as 17:30 as the road is open 24 hours. If Kjeåsen Farm has piqued your curiosity, the booklet Kjeåsen in Eidfjord, by Per A Holst, tells the history of the farm and its inhabitants; it's available for around NOK20 from the Eidfjord tourist office.