Fairy Tale Walk between Aurdal and Dokka

When you start this route, you actually have no clue what to expect. Almost immediately the climbing begins, and before you know it, you are driving on a winding, unpaved road uphill again. We are going to face many curves this day. This is going to be a beautiful trail again. After that, we descend to the Begna. Well, we will encounter that, along with the Etna, a number of times again. We alternate between paved and unpaved roads over beautiful mountain paths with forests and stunning wide views. This continues until we are in Aurdal, and just before that, we meet Begna again. We cross the bridge and drive to Aurdal. There is a mandatory stop at the bakery in Valdress. Here you can find coffee and very delicious sandwiches. Cinnamon rolls are said to be very popular. There is something for everyone, because there is plenty. If you're not in the mood for bread, you can always eat Thai at the adjacent operator. The bakery is hard to miss because you drive right up to it.

After filling our stomachs, the journey continues, and we have to work hard. A real climb to 936 meters with many hairpin bends before we reach the top. Nine hairpin bends later, we turn onto the unpaved Fetjasetvegen. We pass the lakes Damtjernet, Engetjernet, Tjernstøltjernet, and Kivostjernet. If you look to the left, you can see the top of the 1165-meter-high Binhovdknatten, a magical mountain and high plateau.

Right at the first lake, I have to stop for a moment. Where have I landed? It feels like I have landed on another planet, another dimension. What a wonderfully beautiful landscape this is. This is the land of dwarfs and fairies. A mythical landscape. You rarely see something this beautiful. You have to experience this. I take my time to absorb everything and let it sink in.

As I mentioned, we are at almost 935 meters high; you can clearly see that the tree line is almost reached. The trees are like dwarfs, and all the beautiful shrubs, stones, and water make this a true fairyland. This is so beautiful.

We are also driving at almost 1000 meters high, and this fairy-tale landscape is characterized by typical alpine and peat vegetation. The vegetation mainly consists of birch trees, low shrubs, sphagnum moss, and various mountain flowers, fitting the rugged, open landscape of the Norwegian mountains. Low birches, typical for this altitude, and peat flowers, yellow flowers that resemble a combination of snapdragons and penstemons, thrive in the peaty soil. You can also see sphagnum moss here, which occurs in the wetter parts of the high plateau.

The area offers a panoramic view and is surrounded by the natural, unspoiled flora of the Valdres region.

This path, with all its fairy-tale natural beauty, goes for miles until we descend 555 meters down to the Etna at the end. We cross over for a moment and continue on an unpaved road. Climbing through the forest to the next high plateau. It doesn’t stop. We drive over Svilosvegen to the next fairy-tale area. There is a well-known section here, but because we are coming from the other side, this provides a completely different view. We drive again along lakes, with Garin being the most famous. What a wonder this is again. It's so beautiful that I made a loop so you can enjoy this fairy-tale landscape a little longer. Beautiful unpaved roads in a wet landscape.

Still savoring it, we continue along beautiful forest and mountain roads, alternating between paved and unpaved. Slowly we descend again to 381 meters to arrive at the river Synna, cross the bridge, and then again alternating between unpaved and paved climbing, descending, and climbing to over 700 meters. Many curves, beautiful forest roads, and sometimes wide views. Eventually, we return to the Etna and drive the last part unpaved along the Etna.

What a beautiful route on this lovely sunny day in Norway.