Våtedalen is a narrow U-shaped valley that runs north to south between Byrkjelo in Gloppen and Klakegg in Jølster. E39 follows the valley floor for roughly 15 kilometres. The walls are steep and close together, and on a dull day the drive can feel slightly claustrophobic.
The shape is pure Ice Age. Glaciers flowing north carved out the cliffs on both sides and left the flat floor you drive on today. The Votedalselva river runs the length of the valley and empties into Bergheimsvatnet at the northern end. The name comes from an old word for wading, because the valley has always been a place where people forded the river.
The cliffs are a problem. The valley has a long record of rockfalls and snow slides onto the road. In February 2020 a slide about 150 metres wide threw a car 20 to 30 metres up the mountainside. The driver walked away unhurt. A rockfall hit another car in October 2022. The road has closed on many other occasions for geologists to check the slopes. There are no tunnels yet, so drive through rather than stop for photos on the narrow sections.
The river is a separate hazard. Votedalselva is fed by glacier and snow melt and can rise by metres in a few hours after heavy rain or a warm spell. On the night of 21 July 2024, ten tourists parked their motorhomes and pitched tents on what looked like an idyllic sandbank by the water. They woke at three in the morning with water up to their shins, the road back to E39 already underwater. Four motorhomes and several tents were stranded until the water dropped. Nobody was hurt. The spot is not a campsite, the risk is real, and nothing is signposted. NVE, the national water authority, has said they have no power to require warning signs here. Only a tourist would camp there.
At the northern end the mountain Eggenipa (1,338 metres) stands like a gatepost above Byrkjelo. Våtedalen is also known for goat keeping. In summer you might round a bend and find a herd on the road. Let them pass.
The shape is pure Ice Age. Glaciers flowing north carved out the cliffs on both sides and left the flat floor you drive on today. The Votedalselva river runs the length of the valley and empties into Bergheimsvatnet at the northern end. The name comes from an old word for wading, because the valley has always been a place where people forded the river.
The cliffs are a problem. The valley has a long record of rockfalls and snow slides onto the road. In February 2020 a slide about 150 metres wide threw a car 20 to 30 metres up the mountainside. The driver walked away unhurt. A rockfall hit another car in October 2022. The road has closed on many other occasions for geologists to check the slopes. There are no tunnels yet, so drive through rather than stop for photos on the narrow sections.
The river is a separate hazard. Votedalselva is fed by glacier and snow melt and can rise by metres in a few hours after heavy rain or a warm spell. On the night of 21 July 2024, ten tourists parked their motorhomes and pitched tents on what looked like an idyllic sandbank by the water. They woke at three in the morning with water up to their shins, the road back to E39 already underwater. Four motorhomes and several tents were stranded until the water dropped. Nobody was hurt. The spot is not a campsite, the risk is real, and nothing is signposted. NVE, the national water authority, has said they have no power to require warning signs here. Only a tourist would camp there.
At the northern end the mountain Eggenipa (1,338 metres) stands like a gatepost above Byrkjelo. Våtedalen is also known for goat keeping. In summer you might round a bend and find a herd on the road. Let them pass.