Things to do
8-
Trollstigen
Eleven hairpins climb a nine per cent gradient past the Stigfossen waterfall, on a road opened in 1936 and closed by snow for roughly half the year. A rockfall shut it for two full seasons before it reopened, and the county still closes it at short notice in heavy rain, so the status is worth checking on the morning of the drive.
-
Hotel Aak
The oldest tourist hotel in the country, opened in 1855 for the English climbers and salmon fishers who came for the Rauma. It sits under the Troll Wall and still runs as a small mountain house rather than a resort. Guiding and climbing courses are arranged from the house itself.
-
Isfjorden
A working village at the head of its own arm of the fjord, ten minutes from the town and the start of several of the walks into the Romsdal peaks. The via ferrata routes above it are the busiest in the district.
-
Mardalsfossen
One of the highest waterfalls in the country with a free fall of 297 metres, in Eikesdalen east of the town. The water is diverted for power for most of the year and released only from late June to late August, so the trip is worth making inside that window and not outside it.
-
Rampestreken
A steel platform jutting out from the mountainside 537 metres above the town, reached on foot in about ninety minutes of steep stone steps or by riding the gondola and walking down. It looks straight down on the fjord head and the river mouth.
-
Romsdalseggen
A ten kilometre ridge walk from Venjesdalen down to the town, with the Romsdal valley on one side and the Isterdalen on the other. A shuttle bus runs to the start through the season, the exposed sections are chained, and the whole thing takes six to eight hours.
-
Romsdalsgondolen
A cable car opened in 2021 that climbs from the station to Nesaksla in five minutes, replacing the steep walk up. It puts the ridge walk within reach of anyone and there is a restaurant at the top. The top station also serves as the start of the ridge traverse back down to the valley.
-
Trollveggen
The tallest vertical rock face in Europe, about 1,100 metres from base to summit and overhanging by fifty. Base jumping from it has been banned since 1986; the layby on the E136 below is the place to stop and look up. Cloud sits on the wall for much of the summer, so a clear morning is the one to use.
