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m/s Marco Polo
TOUR C200 - OVERLAND TOUR TO EIDFJORD
| Duration: Approx. 5 hours | Price Range: TBC |
We disembark the vessel by ships tenders and join our coaches outside the Brakanes Hotel, and drive through the village and continue alongside the fjord to Bruravik, where we board the local ferry and cross the fjord to Brimnes. The slopes on either side of the fjord are covered with orchards, mainly cherries and apples, and at the end of May and early June the trees in full bloom are incredibly beautiful with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop. After travelling a short distance along the fjord we arrive at Eidfjord, an area ideal for hydro-electric power production owing to the plentiful supply of water in the lakes, and the numerous fast-flowing rivers which tumble down the hillsides from great heights. Our first stop is to visit the Hardanger Nature and Wildlife Centre, which offers an exhibition emphasising the nature and people living within the area. In the cinema we shall see a multi-video presentation about the Hardanger National Park, Norway’s largest National Park and home of the biggest wild reindeer herd in the country. Leaving the Nature Centre we now ascend the famous Måbødalen Valley with its towering mountain walls. Today the road goes mainly through long tunnels, but still visible is the old road and attractive stone bridges built in by-gone days. After climbing to a height of 750 metres, we arrive at Hardangervidda, the largest mountain plateau in Europe, and continue to the Sysen Dam, a rock-filled dam measuring 1,157 metres in length and with a height of 81 metres. Although the hydro-electric power production has resulted in many changes to the landscape, it has also made Eidfjord one of the richest communities in Norway. At the Fossli viewpoint we stop to take a closer look at one of Norway’s most famous waterfalls, the Vøringsfossen, which has a free fall of 183 metres to the canyon below, and afterwards there will be time to enjoy refreshments of coffee or tea. We return to Eidfjord to visit the old church built around 1309. According to the saga, the church was built by Rike-Ragna who ruled in the area at that time. Her reason for building the church lay in her desperate need for forgiveness for all her wicked deeds, and inside the church is a large inscribed gravestone acknowledging her as the benefactor of the church. Here at Eidfjord we rejoin our ship in time for lunch on board. By coach/ferry, subject to a minimum of 35/maximum of 160. |
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