Stalheim is a small hamlet perched 380 metres above the Nærøydalen valley, about 12 km west of Gudvangen. You reach it by car from the Voss side via the E16 tunnel. Most people come here for the view from the hotel terrace, which looks straight down into the UNESCO-protected valley.
The famous attraction was Stalheimskleiva, one of northern Europe's steepest roads. Built between 1842 and 1846 as part of the royal postal road between Oslo and Bergen, it has 13 hairpin bends and gradients up to 20%. Until 1980 it was the main road. After the tunnel opened, it became a one-way summer road going downhill.
Unfortunately, years of heavy tour buses destroyed it. In 2021 authorities closed it permanently to all motor vehicles after landslides and wall collapses. Since October 2023 you can walk or cycle down, but there's no parking at the bottom in Gudvangen, so you'd have to climb back up - a serious effort given the gradient.
On either side of the road are two waterfalls: Stalheimsfossen at 126 metres and Sivlefossen at 142 metres. Sivlefossen is named after the nearby farm where the poet Per Sivle grew up. A memorial stone for him stands at the top of the hairpins.
The hotel has a colourful history. It burned down three times - 1900, 1902, and 1959 when around 24 people died. During the Second World War, the Germans used it as a Lebensborn home - a Nazi programme to breed children by pairing soldiers with Norwegian women. There's still a machine gun bunker under the terrace. Kaiser Wilhelm II was a regular guest from 1889, and his favourite viewpoint is still called Wilhelmshøi.
Next to the hotel is the Stalheim Folk Museum with around 25 old farm buildings. Unfortunately, you need a group of at least 10 people for a guided tour to enter the buildings. The museum is only open when the hotel is open, roughly May to September.