Hikes in Aurland – Questions Answered!

I’m back with another round of questions to answer! I recently got some questions via email that I thought would be helpful to everyone, and decided to answer them here. These questions all relate to the Aurland hikes I mention in this post.

In the past I have answered questions about the Norway in a Nutshell tour in a similar manner here.

First I have pasted the questions I received, and then I proceed to answer them one by one below! As always, feel free to leave a comment if something is left unanswered!

Questions about the hikes in Aurland

Hello,

And thank you so much for your blog.  It has helped us plan most of our time in Flam and Aurland.  I had a couple questions about some hikes you mentioned. We may not have time to complete the Prest Mtn. Hike so we may choose something different.  

1.  You mentioned the skytebana.  Can you share more information on this?  Where would we find the trail head?  Does it go by another name?  I can’t find any information on it!

2.  Hiking to Leim and the farm/cafe…is the only way to get there by the RIB boat?  Or are there busses or taxis that go to the trail?

3.  Is the starting point for the Turlid Waterfall hike near the Aurland church?  

Thanks again!

– Flåm Travel Guide reader

Hiking Skytebana in Aurland (question #1)

The Skytebana hike is a bit of a local “secret”, so there is not much information online. You can easily start from the church in Aurland, and walk along the road until you get to this spot on the map. Basically, walk upwards towards the Stegastein viewpoint until you get to the first hairpin turn.

Note that there is heavy traffic on this road in the summer months. Walking along it is not a problem, and locals do it all the time, but stay aware and avoid keeping both earplugs in if you are listening to music.

From there, take the smaller road downhill, until you pass a couple of houses. You have to go through the driveway there, and through the gate at the end of the driveway (there is a sign and a map of the hike there).

Make sure to close the gate. There are sheep grazing throughout the area you are entering during the summer months. Don’t be afraid, they are used to people hiking through.

Then, simply follow the trail going downhill and parallel to the water until you reach the fjord!

There are a couple of places where the train splits, and if you follow the the trail to the right (going more “level” to the fjord than downhill, if that makes sense), you will be taking the longer route. If you opt for the left trail, you’ll walk downhill a little steeper and shorten the hike.

But eventually, you end up at the fjord and can walk along the fjord back to the village center. I hope this helps!

Hiking/visiting Leim (question #2)

The trail going up to Leim is located at the very end of the road from the village center, around here.

The question refers to the RIB boat tour and guided hike to the farm, offered by Fjordsafari.

However, it is also possible to hike to Leim on your own, and the trailhead can be reached either by walking from the village center of Aurland (about a 1-1,5 hour walk along the fjord). You can also book a taxi to take you there (the phone number for the taxi in Aurland is +47 57633400).

There are no buses going along the fjord to Skjerdal (where the trail head starts), except for the school bus.

Turlid waterfall starting point (question #3)

The starting point for the Turlid waterfall is “officially” here. This is just a 20-minute walk from the church along the river and past Lunde Camping, so lots of people consider the “start” to be in the village center by the church. If you reach Skahjem farm you have gone too far.