Kjeåsen lies in the municipality of Eidfjord and is floating on top of a mountain ledge cradled like an eagle’s nest 600 meters above the Simadalsfjord. To get there you have to take a very narrow road that only allows you to drive up every hour, down every half hour. It’s one of Norway’s mountain ledge farm perched above a Fjord just like the Skagefla farm in Geirangerfjord.
Interesting History About the Kjeasen Mountain Farm
The name Kjeåsen comes from kje’ meaning “child” and ås meaning “mountain” – Mini Mountain as it stands. The farm was inhabited at least since the 1650s before the road up to the farm was constructed. Prior to that, the only way to get there is through the steep path from the bottom of the fjord. During the 1930s a cable car was constructed that could carry equipment and supplies up the farm but the residents of Kjeåsen still had to use the steep trail. The outlying farmstead at Kjeåsen was abandoned in 1962 and was finally sold in 2016 after being in the same family for a few hundred years.
Kjeåsen Mountain Farm Eidfjord Norway
The Swedish writer Bror Ekström wrote a book about the people living there after visiting the farm in the 1950s. The book, Folket på Kieåsen (The folks of Kjeåsen), was published in 1958 and became popular in Norway. The Norwegian broadcasting company, NRK, aired a program about Kjeåsen in its series Der ingen skulle tru at nokon kunne bu and a Swedish national radio broadcaster also aired a program about the farm.
Awesome picturesque view of the Kjeåsen Mountain Farm and the Eidfjord.
A Private Tourist Attraction
Today, the Kjeasen farm is a major tourist attraction, sort of like an open air museum. There’s a cafe serving ok food and knick-knacks for tourist. The farm is awesome because it’s very isolated from civilization and really hard to get to. Just imagine it was inhabited when cars weren’t even common in Norway, people had to schlep supplies and food goods by foot all the way to the top.
I sort of found this location by accident. I’ve driven around in Norway for about a month and I was looking for a Vinmonopolet, a place where you can get wine. There happened to be one in Eidfjord and I was passing through anyway. I asked one of the staff what’s cool to see in the area and she told me about Kjeåsen, of course, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see some ancient farm dangling above a fjord.
Photography Tips
For photography, the farm frames very nicely with Eidfjord below. Not much interesting going on other than that but you can hike to the bottom or hike from the bottom to the farm if you’d like. A tripod is good, almost necessary if you don’t have a camera a built-in anti-shake technology. A polarizer is almost necessary to bring the awesome hues of the fjord and the greens of the grass.
How to Get to Kjeåsen
From Eidfjord head southeast on Ostangvegen toward Simadalsvegen. Go north on Simadalsvegen for about 3 kilometers until it becomes Fv103. Go 4 kilometers and turn left on the road towards Kjeåsen farm. After another 3 kilometers and you’ll have to pass a tunnel that is time for passing every 30 minutes.
When to Go To Kjeåsen
It’s often raining on this part of Norway but don’t let that dissuade you. Overcast or not your best chances of seeing the Fjord with the farm are during the summer months.
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