Hardangervidda Plateau Drive

The Hardangervidda Plateau Drive on the Rv7 is one of Norway's most elemental road experiences — a crossing of the largest mountain plateau in Northern Europe, a vast treeless wilderness of lichen-covered rock, glacial lakes, and sub-Arctic sky that stretches for thousands of square kilometres. The Hardangervidda is the habitat of Europe's largest herd of wild reindeer, roughly 10,000 animals that move in seasonal migration patterns across the plateau, and it is one of the few places in Europe where you might encounter them from the road on an ordinary day's drive. The Rv7 threads across this extraordinary landscape between Geilo in the east and Eidfjord on the Hardangerfjord in the west, covering approximately 90 kilometres through a landscape that alternates between high plateau, dramatic fjord descent, and waterfalls of enormous scale.

The highlight that most visitors come specifically to see is Vøringsfossen — one of the most famous waterfalls in Norway, where the Bjoreio river drops 182 metres in a series of cascades into the Måbødalen gorge below. The viewpoints above the falls are genuinely spectacular, and the sheer scale of the drop — the water seems to fall into a void — is one of those natural features that photographs struggle to capture. Below Vøringsfossen, the descent road into the Måbødalen valley is itself a piece of Norwegian road engineering history: a series of tunnels and sharp hairpins carved from the cliff face in the 1880s, now supplemented by a modern road but still partially accessible as a heritage route. The modern Hardanger Bridge — one of the longest suspension bridges in the world — connects the plateau road system directly to the fjord tunnels below.

For a VW T3, the Hardangervidda presents specific challenges and rewards in equal measure. The plateau section of the Rv7 is well-maintained but entirely exposed — wind, rain, and occasional summer snow squalls are all possible even in July, and the temperature at 1,200–1,300 metres can be 10–15 degrees colder than at sea level. The gradients on the main plateau road are steady rather than savage, manageable for a T3 in the appropriate gear. The descent to Eidfjord and the Hardangerfjord is steeper and requires careful engine braking. Below the plateau, the scenery transforms completely: the fjord landscape with its apple orchards, waterfalls, and turquoise water is one of the most beautiful in all of Norway.

The Hardangervidda is best traversed in late June through August when the plateau road is reliably open and the light on the high plateau is extraordinary — Norwegian summer light at this latitude is prolonged and golden even late into the evening. The road typically opens in late May or early June depending on snowfall, and closes again in November or earlier. September brings stunning autumn colours to the birch scrub on the plateau edges. The Hardangervidda Nature Centre in Eidfjord provides excellent context for the plateau landscape and is worth a visit before or after the crossing.