Ridderspranget

At Ridderspranget the Sjoa river, which is wide and fast above and below, is forced through a slot in the rock only a few metres across and drops through it in a violent green rush. The name means the knight's leap, and the story attached says that Sigvat Kvie carried off a woman betrothed to another man and jumped the gap on horseback to escape pursuit, a legend recorded in local tradition and later used in Norwegian literature. A path of about fifteen minutes from a small car park on the Valdresflye road leads through pine to the gorge, where viewpoints look directly down into the channel. The Sjoa is a well-known whitewater river, and rafting trips run its lower sections.

The landscape

• The rock slot - the river compressed into a channel a few metres wide.
• The green torrent - fast water dropping through the gap.
• The viewpoints - rock ledges directly above the gorge.
• The pine approach - a short forest path from the road.

When to go

June to September, when the road is open and the water high from melt; the flow is most impressive in early summer. The Valdresflye mountain road closes in winter.

Things to know

Viewpoints are unfenced rock above a lethal drop into fast water, and the stone is slippery when wet, so this is not a place to be casual with children. Parking is a small gravel area. The site takes half an hour.

Nearby

Gjendesheim and Besseggen are up the Sjodalen valley; Vagamo and Lom lie north.

Key facts