Ringedalsvatnet

What makes it special

The Ringedals Dam closes the lake with 520 metres of concrete gravity dam, a road along the crest and a spillway with slide gates. Both faces are dressed in hand-cut granite. Finished in 1918, it was Norway's largest dam.

The lake is a reservoir, and its shoreline shows it. The level is regulated for power and can be drawn down far below the full mark, so the waterline you find depends on what the turbines need. From the dam, water runs through tunnels down to the power plant.

Several of the big waterfalls that once fed the lake no longer flow regularly, because the lakes above it are regulated too. The best known is Tyssestrengene, a twin fall 646 metres high in all. In 1967 its water was sent to a power station built inside the mountain at Skjeggedal.

Down in Tyssedal stands the old power station this lake fed as its main reservoir. It is now the Kraftmuseet.

Visiting

Driving up from Tyssedal on the Skjeggedal road, you cross the dam itself. Park at the Åsen transformer station on its west side, then walk across the dam for the view up the lake.

For the view from above, carry on across the dam to the start of the Einseten path. As it climbs you look over the water to Tyssestrengene, Trolltunga and Reinanuten. The final climb to the summit is steep, and from the top the lake lies far below you.

On the way back down, stop at the Kraftmuseet in Tyssedal. It opens Tuesday to Friday, you walk round on your own, and a guided tour has to be booked in advance.

Tips

The nearest toilets are at the Skjeggedal car park, and there are none on the mountain, so use them before you set off up Einseten. It is always colder up there than down by the fjord, so dress for the summit, not the car park.

If you are walking to Trolltunga, you soon see the lake far below you on the climb. It is a good place to stop for a photograph.