Scenic day trip to Lærdal & Stegastein

Day trip from Flåm to Lærdal

Starting from Flåm at 11:00 or from Aurland at 11:10, you go directly through the world’s longest tunnel to Old Lærdal Town Centre. As you get off the bus, you are met by your guide for the next couple of hours. Here, you will do a 45 minutes’ walking tour of the charming and historic centre to learn about Lærdal’s important position back in the days.

The guided walk takes you over to the National Wild Salmon Centre, where you can explore the interactive exhibition on your own. There is also time to stop by Laksen Bakery & Café to grab some lunch (not included) before you get back on the bus.

Instead of going back to Flåm through the 25-kilometre-long tunnel, you now get to experience the old road. Along the National Scenic Route across Mt. Aurlandsfjellet the bus will make a few photo stops, the most famous being Stegastein Viewpoint as you start descending down to the fjord.

Old Town Lærdal

Old Lærdalsøyri dates back to the 13th century, and even longer according to archaeologists. Here are near 170 protected, wooden buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries and the local guide will tell you all about the time when Lærdal was a trading hub between Eastern and Western Norway.

National Wild Salmon Centre

Lærdal has been famous amongst anglers for more than 150 years. Royalties, lords, movie stars as well as regular people have come here since the mid-19th century to fish the renowned Lærdals salmon, creating jobs to the local community.

The average weight of a salmon caught in Lærdalselva river is 7.5 kg, but the record is a booming 26.5 kg!

The National Wild Salmon Centre is an interactive exhibition using film, interactive installations and photos to show you the fascinating life of the wild salmon, as well as the history of angling in Lærdal.

Laksen Kafé & Bakery is located next door, offering sandwiches, pizza and a variety of sweet pastries.

National Scenic routes

In total, there are 18 Norwegian Scenic Routes from the far north to the south of Norway. These are roads going through some of the most unique landscapes in the country, with artworks, viewpoints and rest areas with interesting architecture along the way.

Mt. Aurlandsfjellet and Stegastein

The 48-kilometre-long road across Mt. Aurlandsfjellet is called the Snowroad, and even though most of it is closed during winter you can still see snow far into the summer. This was the main road between Flåm/Aurland and Lærdal until the Lærdals tunnel opened in 2000.

Be ready for contrasts when driving this route. It goes from fjord to fjord over a mountain pass where the highest point on the route being 1308 masl.

As you start descending towards the Aurlandsfjord, you will stop by the popular viewpoint at Stegastein. The platform juts out 30 metres from the mountain side, 650 metres above the fjord, and give you spectacular panoramic views.