Norway · Møre og Romsdal · Western Norway
Trollstigen & Geiranger
The classic Rv 63 pairing. Eleven hairpins up from Romsdalen, a car ferry across Storfjorden, eleven more hairpins down to Geiranger.
- Elevation gain
- 1,700 m
- Passes
- 2
- Duration
- 1 day
- Type
- Point-to-point
The most-photographed 105 kilometres in Norway. Riksvei 63, one of eighteen designated National Tourist Routes, links the railhead at Åndalsnes to the fjord village of Geiranger via two of the country's iconic pass roads: Trollstigen to the north and Ørnevegen to the south, joined across the water by the twenty-minute Linge–Eidsdal ferry.
The route
-
Start
Åndalsnes
-
Trollveggen
1,100 m vertical rock face at the foot of the climb
-
Stigfossen waterfall
Drops 320 m alongside the middle hairpins
-
Trollstigen
-
Trollstigen viewing platform
Cantilevered deck over the top hairpin
-
Stop
Valldal
Strawberry-farming village, the usual lunch stop
-
Stop
Linge–Eidsdal ferry
20-minute crossing of Storfjorden
-
Ørnevegen
-
Ørnesvingen viewpoint
The Eagle Bend, looking down Geirangerfjord
-
Seven Sisters waterfall
Visible across the fjord on the descent
-
Finish
Geiranger
Who it's for
- Cyclists: a full day. Trollstigen's north face is 850 m of climbing in 15 km; Ørnevegen's climb from Geiranger is a shorter 620 m in 8 km. Most cycle tourists split the route over two days with a night in Valldal.
- Motorcyclists: three hours of pure riding, but the combination of hairpins, ferry timing, and photo stops makes it a comfortable full-day ride.
- Drivers: manageable for any vehicle including campervans, but the hairpins on both passes are slow and queueing is common in peak summer.
Practical notes
- Base: Åndalsnes at the north end has the railhead and a good range of hotels. Valldal in the middle is quieter. Geiranger at the south end has the ferry terminal and the biggest selection of lodging but is cruise-ship busy in midsummer.
- Ferry: the Linge–Eidsdal crossing of Storfjorden runs every 20 to 40 minutes in season, no reservation needed. Payment is by AutoPASS transponder or on the boat.
- Trollstigen status: closed to through traffic since the 2024 rockslide. Staged reopening planned through the 2026 season; check Statens vegvesen before departure.
- Season: Ørnevegen stays open year-round; Trollstigen is the limiting factor, normally open late May to October. The whole route is best in June and September, when light is long and tourist buses are thinner.
- Fuel: Åndalsnes, Valldal, Eidsdal, and Geiranger all have stations. No fuel on either pass.