Otta to Åndalsnes through Romsdal Valley

One valley cutting the mountains – connecting east and west.

This is one of the rides between east and west of Norway where you cut through the most dramatic landscapes with the least effort. Combine this with train or why not test your skills adding a climb on the Trollstigen road.

The ride described here is 168 km long, but was divided in two with an overnight stay by Lesjaskogvatnet.

The first part is on a quite flat stretch between Otta and Sel on quiet backroads. Then the valley narrows into a gorge, and you have to follow the main road E6 for some kilometres. The route leaves the main road when you can cross the river to Solsidevegen just after Dovreskogen. From here the main road is also closed for use by cyclists. Follow in the hillside to Dovre station where you cross the valley again to continue on narrow roads beneath Dombås to Lesja. If you need to fill up You’ll see the church on a distance, and this is where you climb back up to the main road E136. The way west now continues flat on a dedicated lane parallel to the road. Now look out for an old house along the road with an addition built like a round cheese. This is Avdemsbue, a perfect place to stop for a good fill up. They sell typical local food, cheese, meat or pastries. They also serve excellent pizza and salads, and the coffee here is perfect. This was my last stop for the day before spending the night in a camping hut by Lesjaskogvatnet. The small lake here is interesting as the water is the source of rivers both to the east and west.

The next leg of the trip is just on flat roads before you descend from Bjorli into Romsdal valley. Start as early as you can, as this part of the route is mainly on roads with traffic. It not that busy, but this road is used by long and heavy trucks, and in summertime by a lot of tourists. There are few or none alternative roads, so be careful. This route is also packed with spots to stop for sightseeing, so I would recommend spending the day instead of just heading straight to Åndalsnes.

You’ll notice the peaks of the western mountains in a distance when you’re on the road again. This is where you’re heading. Bjorli can be a place to grab some breakfast or snacks to bring along. There is no guarantee that you’ll find much between here and Åndalsnes, though in the tourist season there will be kiosks and souvenir-shops by the main attractions.

Just as the descent starts you should stop where the river start turning into a waterfall just where the railway crosses on a beautiful arched bridge. This is the Stuguflåt bridge, built in 1923. It was damaged in a sabotage action in 1945, to stop German transports through the valley.

Just a couple of hundred meters down the road, look for the old road to the right. It’s not a long detour, but it brings you along a beautiful farm and a typical camping site from the sixties. Here you’ll also pass the old border stone between the counties of Møre & Romsdal and Oppland. Another waterfall which will take your breath away is not far away. Look for the sign to Slettafossen to the left as you continue down the road. This is a gorge where the water coming from glaciers and last winter’s snow are pressed into narrow space creating a powerful and rare experience for any spectator.

I have traveled this stretch hundreds of times in a car or on a train, so this trip on bike was a unique possibility to get a closer look at some of the places I had just noticed as I passed by. Slettafossen was one of these extraordinary sights that I hadn’t even known the scale of. Next on the trip was a detour off the main road to get closer to the farms by another waterfall, Vermafossen. This whole setting is so special. The railway turns its direction twice here, first by doing a u-turn inside the mountain, then by crossing Kylling Bridge to head down the valley again as it passes another waterfall falling heavily through the arches beneath the train. In addition to impressive nature and engineering the scene is added with a mountain farm of weathered houses, still in use. The detour to the mountain farm ment going steep down to the bottom of the valley, to climb back up again. But it was all worthwhile.

You are now soon getting to the bottom of the Romsdal Valley, with an almost flat road bringing you the last part down to the sea and Åndalsnes. The mountains rise high around you, and this is a landscape that has attracted artists, tourists, mountaineers and salmon fishers for centuries. The summer I did this trip, the railway was partly closed for use, as it was being used for filming the new Mission Impossible movie, with the Orient Express on the tracks and Tom Cruise greeting the locals.

Further down the valley you will get Trollveggen (The Troll Wall) to your left. This is one of Europe’s tallest vertical walls, and it is decorated with nunataks (peaks left above the ice shield during the ice-age) on the top edge. This wall has been a destination for climbers and base-jumpers. After numerous accidents, base-jumping her was forbidden. But I can still remember times when cars stopped along the road to spot a rescue action taking place in a cold, wet and foggy mountainside. Some came out alive, but many also lost their lives.

Hopefully you will experience this part of the valley in sunshine, or with some light playing around in the mist. But you are entering the western part of Norway, where you might get cold and rainy summer days, or even mild winter days.

Getting closer to Åndalsnes I did a detour, as you will see on the map. This took me to the west side of the river, and on the first part of the “Golden Route”, which is a tourist route with the impressive Trollstigen (The Troll Climb) road, the strawberry valley of Valldal and the World Heritage landscape around the tourist hotspot Geiranger. All this will be described in another route. This detour took me down to Åndalsnes in a lush landscape around the wide river, and back up the valley again to get a nights sleep in Hotell Aak. This was once a British owned establishment, but is now locally owned and uses as a base for climbing, hiking or cycling in the area.

Åndalsnes is situated where the valley meets the sea. Here the Romsdal Valley turns into Romsdal Fjord. This is a tourist melting pot during summer, with cruise ships, caravans and buses. Many come here to climb, or hike in the nearby mountains, or they stop here on their road trip on the spectacular Trollstigen road. You might want to continue your bike trip on that, or just head back with the train from Åndalsnes station. You can also look for the description of the trip from Oppdal to Åndalsnes here, if you want to continue your bike adventure back to another station in the mountains.

View first leg from Otta to Lesjaskogvatnet here: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/49880384
Vies second leg from through Romsdal here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35456909