The King's Road to Haugsvik
The old post road/King's Road from Stalheim to Haugsvik takes approx. 2 hours. The walk is considered an easy walk, and can be done by everyone, both children and adults of all ages. It can be wet in some places on the walk, so we recommend footwear that keeps you dry.
From Stalheim Hotel You walk about 200 meters down the road towards Voss. Here you will come across a large information sign about the King's Road, the history of the road and the surrounding nature. We recommend that you take the time to take in this information.
The trail turns right, through the gate, then you follow the farm road up the hill and after a good climb for the first couple of hundred meters it flattens out, and you come to the first farm, which is locally called Senjæ.
Continue through the farm in Senjæ, through a couple of gates in the forest and when you come out of the forest you are at Sleen. The road now goes from farmyard to farmyard and as you will discover, all the farmyards are located approximately in the middle of the valley side as the oldest farmyards often did. All the time you have a magnificent view of the landscape.
From Sleen, the post road runs through the yard to the farms Tveite, Lunde and Giljarhus. Just after Giljarhus you cross the magnificent Stone Vault Bridge over the Giljarhus River from around 1750.
Finally, you will reach the old farms Hauge and Rygg. Here you will have a magnificent view of Oppheimsvatnet and towards the Vossefjella mountains.
You can of course go back the same way you came, but many people prefer to walk down to Haugsvik and take the bus back to Stalheim.
For bus routes see skyss.no . For the most enthusiastic there are also opportunities to go back to Stalheim on the other side of the valley.
Kongevegen - text from sign:
“The Norwegian postal service was founded by the Danish/Norwegian king Christian IV in 1647. The postal route, with only one mail delivery per week, followed the old road between Bergen and Christiania (Oslo.)
From the mid-18th century, there was a growing demand for faster mail delivery and more mail routes. The roads had to be improved, and a major road construction project, “The King’s Road,” was initiated.
The road was built here in the 1780s and 1790s. The Haugsvik-Stalheim road is about 5 km long. It runs along or very close to the farmyards, and is regularly used by people in the hamlet. It is now also widely used as a tourist route for those who like to walk.
The road is located high up on the hillside with beautiful views over the village. It is easy and pleasant to walk. There are benches set up at the best viewpoints.
Close the gates and keep the area clean of litter. Have a nice walk on a nice hiking trail!”
