The steep road to Kjeåsen, the world’s most inaccessible farm
Kjeåsen is a famous farm located in Eidfjord, a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It’s said to be the world’s most inaccessible farm due to a very steep and twisting road and a rather dark tunnel, making this an exciting drive.
What’s Kjeåsen mountain farm?
The now-famous mountain farm, built 400 years ago, lies like an eagle's nest on a mountain ledge 600m (1,969ft) above the fjord below, on the north side of Simadalsfjorden next to Eidfjord in the inner Hardangerfjord. It is known that Kjeåsen has been inhabited from as early as 1650 AD. You’ll definitely feel like you are well away from civilization. Before the construction of the road, the only access to Kjeåsen was on foot through a very narrow and awkward mountain pass.
How long is the road to Kjeåsen mountain farm?
The road to the farm is totally paved. High on the Kjeåsen mountain, it was built in 1975 to provide access to hydroelectricity developments. Starting at Fv103, the road to the farm is 5.3km (3.29 miles) long. Surrounded by tall pines and mist, the drive, known as "the world's most expensive farm road," is pretty exciting.
Is the road to Kjeåsen mountain farm difficult?
This single-lane winding road to Kjeåsen Mountain Farm is very narrow and pretty steep, reaching a 30% maximum gradient through some of the ramps. The road consists of about 2.5 km of winding road, with the rest passing through a narrow tunnel.
How’s the tunnel to Kjeåsen mountain farm?
At the foot of the steep road, a sign warns that a narrow tunnel lies ahead, as half of the road (2.8km) goes through a one-way hand-carved tunnel. The tunnel has a single lane, with driving directions scheduled up on the hour and down every half hour. There may be some waiting time because of this. Although the tunnel is open 24 hours, the latest you should drive up to the farm is 5 pm to respect the privacy of Kjeåsen's inhabitants. There is no lighting in this tunnel, so the only thing you can depend on here are the headlights of your car. It's not possible to go by foot or bike through the tunnel.
Pic: m0rus ✈