Lårdalstigen
Lårdalstigen, 14km path leading at the edge of 800m cliff above Bandak Lake in the heart of Telemark area is the one of the most magnificent places in Norway. The trail is described as very demanding offers many unforgettable spectacular views. I’ve been thinking about this route for long time, and finally decided to go. My main concern was how should I make this trail. Left the car on one end and go to the other end and then go back? Is it any other way to coming back? Any buss or something. And yes, there is something. And it called MS Victoria or MS Henrik Ibsen. They are historic passenger boats making trips on Telemrak Channel. This is a water route between Dalen and Skien, over 100 kilometers long distance, going through couple of lakes and waterlocks. Is it possible to take this boat at 8.00 in the morning in Dalen and go to Lårdal, and then start the walking trip or start in Dalen and descend to Lårdal quay at 17.00 when the boat coming back from her journey.
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I decided to the first option and around 08.35 I landed in Lårdal. Lårdalstigen starts 2 km from the quay and this is a good warm up before climbing as the first kilometers of the trail are very demanding. Path leds in the forest on very steep slope. I was attacked by squadrons of mosquitos, which bit me without any mercy. Fortunately, soon the path became much easier and mosquitos disappeared.
Along the trail there are several viewing points and I tried to go on each one, even if that meant to spend few minutes extra and follow the additional patch for some distance. I counted to find a stream with water that I could fill up my liquid resources but unfortunately almost on whole route there was dry like on the desert. I finally found small river at the end of trail, maybe 1,5 km from the parking lot and another just before final sign. So, if you are planning to go to Lårdalstigen, remember to bring water with you. A lot of water.
The trip was hard as they described. I went up and down almost all time and I was really exhausted at the end. But on the other side, this tour gave me a lot of joy and satisfaction.
