Rallarvegen

The Rallarvegen was built between 1902 and 1904 to move materials and men during the construction of the Bergen Railway, and rallar was the word for the navvies who did the work. It runs about eighty kilometres from Haugastol over the high plateau past Finse at 1,222 metres and down the Flam valley to the fjord, mostly on gravel, and it has become the most cycled route in Norway with tens of thousands of riders a season. The classic version starts at Finse, taking the train up with a bicycle, and finishes at Flam after a long descent through twenty-one hairpins in Myrdal. Snow lies on the high section into July, which sets the season.

What you actually see

• The construction road - the original navvy route beside the railway.
• The high plateau - the crossing past Finse and Hardangerjokulen.
• The Myrdal hairpins - twenty-one bends dropping into the Flam valley.
• The railway relics - old stone structures and snow sheds along the line.

When to go

Mid-July to September, once the snow has cleared from the highest section; the road usually opens in the second half of July and can be later after a heavy winter. Trains carrying bicycles need booking.

Honest expectations

The surface is gravel and rough in places, unsuitable for road bikes and hard on wrists. The high section is exposed with no shelter and weather that turns quickly. Bicycle places on trains are limited and sell out, and the Flam descent is steep with heavy brake wear.

Nearby

Finse and Hardangerjokulen are at the high point; Flam and the Aurlandsfjord are at the end.