Galdane - Seltunåsen

From the parking lot at Sjurhaugfossen you cross the Lærdal River and after 100 meters you turn sharply left and you are on the Kongevegen av 1794. The mythical Olavklemma is the first experience you encounter. A little later you come to the infamous Laukebargbakken immortalized by Johannes Flintoe's sketch of a horse and cart, where the coachman hangs behind and tries to slow the wild speed down the steep hill. 

At Store Sokni you cross on a contemporary bridge modeled after 1790 in the shower of the mighty waterfall. Now the homestead Galdane is there. Houses on high walls up steep fields. An open oasis between steep mountain slopes. Today beautifully restored and a great place for a lunch break. 

Further ahead it becomes narrow and the road has barely any space between the mountain and the river in the valley floor. The road is in a crevice between large boulders. When the road was a road, it could be unsafe here in the winter and in the spring when ice and snow melted and snow water and rockfalls threatened the mountain sides. On a summer day it is just idyllic with the grassy road as a contrast to the gray stone and gray mountain. 

You round the headland and the landscape continues and has given way to a small farm on the sand dunes between the mountain and the river, Seltøyni. You continue 800 meters further and cross the Lærdalselvi on the bridge at Seltun farm. Now you turn 180 degrees and go upstream on the other side of the river back towards Sjurhaugfossen. 

It is about 1.2 kilometers on asphalt to a rest area, where the old road from 1845 over Seltunåsen turns to the right and rises steadily upwards. The thorough use of brickwork of the roadway over gullies and depressions makes this road much easier and faster to walk than the Kongevegen from 1794. 

After about 1 kilometer the road has flattened out and a beautiful view opens up over the river to the Galdane homestead. A few hundred meters more and you are at the gorge above Gravdalen where the road lies on a 15 meter high wall built by hand in natural stone. It gives a powerful impression. For the adventurous there is a channel at the bottom of the wall where it is still possible to get through. 

Further on, it is a lovely walk to Sjurhaugfossen and the parking lot. Sjurhaugfossen is difficult for salmon to cross, and an impressive and spectacular system of stairs and paths down to the river has been created for salmon anglers. In the waterfall there are many large and beautiful sluices.

On the tour you will encounter information signs and place name signs that enrich the tour.