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A NEW ERA IN THE SUNNMØRE ALPS
NORWAY
Norway’s western Fjordlands have a new travel hotspot: the Sunnmøre Alps. Two decades after the
closure of a local textile factory, tourism is now the community’s lifeblood. Today, there are new
places to bed down and ways to explore, from cycling tours to dining safaris. Words: Sarah Marshall
Pursing his lips, Helge Kvam Karbø prepares to play a spindly
birchwood horn. Deep and low, his first few notes reverberate
through Fjordland valleys; a forlorn, wistful lament.
In the past, remote communities would use these
melancholic melodies to communicate with each another,
sending warnings about the temperamental weather or
simply as a reassurance no shepherd would ever be alone.
Today, few people possess the skills needed to play these
historic instruments, but Helge, the CEO of adventure
company Fjord Nature, is part of younger generation
determined to keep the tradition alive.
Stowing the antique horn behind a row of turf-roofed farm
cottages clinging to cliffs gleaming with emerald blades
of spring grass, Helge finishes his mini concert, and we
continue our electric bike ride through the Sunnmøre Alps.
Dramatic even by Norwegian standards, it’s an area
where ords plummet to deep-sea depths and mountains
rise so high they threaten to block out the sun. Close by,
thousands of tourists board cruises ships to tour UNESCO-
protected Geirangerord, but here there’s no one.
Our 1 2-mile ride takes us past a drowned village littered
with the bones of petrified trees, and the Norangsdalen
valley, Norway’s narrowest, where the walls pinch so tight I
can almost stretch out my arms to touch both sides.
Hailed for its excellent hiking routes and kayak-friendly
waterways, Sunnmøre has experienced a revival in recent
years. Helge’s business is one of many benefitting from
tourism generated by the philanthropic Flakk family, who
own three hotels and a cabin in this region, along with a
fleet of helicopters, boats and cars — all falling under the
umbrella of adventure company 62° Nord.
The story of a community tightly knitted together threads
back to one of Norway’s most historic textile companies,
Devold, whose jumpers were worn by, among others, the
polar explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen.
In 20 01, several years after Knut Flakk bought the
company, economics forced him to outsource production
to Lithuania. Concerned by the gaping hole left in the local
community, he turned to tourism to plug the gap.
“A great place to visit must also be a great place to live,”
says Ann Kristin Ytrevik, 62° Nord’s marketing manager,
explaining the company’s philosophy of community
conservation. “Tourism should have a positive impact.”
In Øye, the start of our bike tour, where the Flakks’ Hotel
Union Øye sits below towering Slogen mountain, a dying
town has been resurrected by tourism. Built in 1891 and
recently renovated, the picket-fenced, alpine property is a
favourite with Queen Sonja of Norway, who loves hiking.
A room in her honour features a button by the bath to call
for Champagne.
And in Hellesylt, Helge’s hometown, where our bike ride
ends, Knut plans to open a hydropower plant to service
cruises ships — an eco measure required by the Norwegian
government to cut emissions by 2 026. The huge outlay will
never be recouped in Knut’s lifetime. Not that it matters.
Leaving a legacy, he insists, is enough of a reward.
Giving a future to people is important but one of the
best ways to do that is by preserving the past. Embodying
that message are Inge and Bjorn Tolaas, who’ve formed a
partnership with Storord Hotel, another property in the
Flakk portfolio, a two-hour boat ride north from Oye, in
Glomset. Guests staying at the luxurious ord-side hotel can
join a traditional dining safari at the couple’s farmhouse,
also in Glomset, which once supplied wool to Devold.
When I arrive, trays of golden chanterelles are drying
in the garden. Dressed in an embroidered bunad tunic,
Inge serves me plates of walnut bread with wild garlic,
lamb sausage laced with lingonberry, and juniper-infused
salmon from her husband’s smokehouse.
Parading a curious collection of headwear — including
a crown of antlers and razor clam headdress — Inge’s
hospitality verges on performance art. She’s excited to have
an audience, but, more than anything, she’s happy to be
living and working in her family home.
“Every day we get to enjoy this view,” she says, opening
her arms to the mountains, sea and sky. “That’s something
very special.”
How to do it: Scott Dunn offers a six-night Norway
itinerary from £7, 200 based on two people travelling on
a half-board basis. It includes stays at Hotel Union Øye
and Storord Hotel, return flights and private transfers.
scottdunn.com visitnorway.com
74 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL
SCANDINAVIA
