Hjølmo

In the steep hillside in Hjølmodalen, a small side valley from Øvre Eidfjord (Upper Eidfjord), which has been a key entrance to the Hardanger Plateau, the hamlet of old farmhouses still lie clustered together. The yard is empty today, some of the houses are used in the summer, but the grass grows round all the corners.

Kjeåsen

High up above the fjord, at a height of 600m lie the two holdings at Kjeåsen. Today you can drive there by car, through a new tunnel that the power engineers in Sima have drilled. Until 1974 the only road went up the steep hillside, along iron bolted ladders across dizzying rocks – a road for the strong at heart.

Måbø

Måbø is the uppermost farm in Måbødalen. This narrow and steep mountain valley has been one of the routes from the fjord communities up to the mountain plateau from times immemorial. We are not certain of the meaning of the name Måbø. Perhaps it has its origin in an Old Norse male name Mávi, from the name for seagull, már. The last syllable “bø” means farm. Today Måbø gives us a compact close-up of the subsistence economy: the small farm with the clearance piles, stone walls and a lane that guided the animals into the yard, at the foot of the great mountain expanse.

Måbødalen- geology

The old pack road had 1500 steps, where cars today gas through the mountain. The time of this hard work is over, and of getting used to the steep terrain, as well; only the view from the top is much the same as before. Vøringsfossen in summer is one of Western Norway’s biggest natural wonders. It marks the transition between the older, open part of the Sysendalen valley and the younger, narrow and winding valley of Måbødalen.

Skytjedalen

Bordalsgjelet

Deep down between the stone polished phyllite bedrock in Bordalsgjelet canyon, there is a cascading river. In close cooperation with hard polishing stones, the water has carved into the bedrock for thousands of years - and is still doing so today.

Finne

Peter Bonde, who owned Finne towards the end of the 1200s, had a jumping stag in his family emblem. This stag is the origin for the heraldic blazon of Voss. Peter Bonde and his descendants acquired possession of many farms and farm parts; the so-called Finne properties became some of the largest land properties in the country.

Fjose

The farm Fjose lies uppermost in Tjukkebygdi, one of the good grain farms on the sunny side here. The woodcarver Styrk Fjose (1873-1937) came from this farm, which is now protected as a cultural heritage.

Hamlagrø

The type of underlying rock can be decisive for how many different types of plants are found in an area. In the area around Hamlagrø-lake the diversity is especially obvious. The geological conditions change much here within a short distance.

Lydvo