The Golden Route through the Vaksdal Mountains – from Dale to Vaksdal

The Golden Route through the Vaksdalsfjellene – from Dale to Vaksdal is a great mountain hike over a mountain range with wide views in all directions. The hike brings together some of the best the Vaksdalsfjellene has to offer: airy mountain ridges, views of the fjord, Folgefonna and the North Sea – and a practical route that can be walked from train station to train station.

The trip can be done without a car. From Bergen, take the train to Dale station. If you are driving, it is recommended to park at Vaksdal station, take the train to Dale as the trip ends in Vaksdal.

From Dale station, walk towards the city center, take Fabrikkveien and continue on to Skyttelplassen. You can also go through the tunnel in Bergsdalsvegen and go down to the right just after. At the end of Skyttelplassen, follow the gravel path down to the river and go over the bridge. After the bridge, turn left, before the path goes steeply up to the right, signposted towards Høgabu.

The path climbs steeply through the forest, with both iron steps and wooden stairs along the way. Eventually you pass the Dalestølen viewpoint and continue upwards towards Dalesætra. Do not go into the stables, but follow the T-marked path further in a southeasterly direction. Here the landscape opens up, and the path continues through hilly mountain terrain, past water, boulders and stream beds.

At the highest point in the skerk between Storafjellet and Blåfjellkupa, you leave the marked trail and follow the mountain ridge southwest. This is one of the most beautiful parts of the hike. The ridge first goes over Blåfjellkupa, then towards Gløvret and further over Gløvreegga. The terrain is easy to walk in, and the view towards Folgefonna on one side and the North Sea on the other is impressive.

From Gløvreegga the path descends steeply before continuing off the path towards Grånipa. From here you follow the cairn path further towards Vaksdal. The view down towards Sørfjorden and the surrounding mountains is one of the highlights of the trip.

The path continues down towards Javnasåta and further steeply down through the forest to Flordalen. Here you come onto a paved road, which you follow down to Vaksdal station.