Undredal: The Goat-Cheese Village in the Heart of the Norwegian Fjords

A hundred souls between the fjord walls

Until 1988, Undredal did not even have a road. The only way to reach this handful of white houses at the foot of a sheer rock face was the boat that sailed up the Nærøyfjord — the same fjord that UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site. Today a tunnel bored through the mountain connects the village to the outside world, but Undredal has kept entirely intact its character as a place outside time: a hundred residents, five hundred goats and absolute peace.

The village is a cluster of white wooden houses with turf roofs, squeezed between the dark green water of the fjord and mountains that rise vertically to twelve hundred metres. There are no traffic lights, no souvenir shops, no hotel. There is only the sound of water cascading from the mountain, the bleating of goats and the scent of cheese maturing in the cellars.

What to see

Undredal stave church

With its forty seats, Undredal stavkyrkje vies for the title of smallest church in Scandinavia. Built around 1147, it is one of the few stave churches still in regular use. The interior is a gem: walls painted with floral motifs from the seventeenth century, a blue ceiling with golden stars, and an atmosphere of recollection that the dark wood and the smell of tar render almost tangible. The key is collected at the neighbouring farmhouse — a gesture of trust that says much about this place.

The dairy and the goats

Undredal is the Norwegian capital of goat's cheese. The village's five hundred goats produce the milk for the brunost (sweet brown cheese) and the white geitost that are processed in the small local dairy. You can visit the dairy, taste the cheeses and buy them directly. Undredal brunost has a richer, more complex flavour than the industrial variety: notes of caramel, toasted hazelnut and a gentle acidity that make it perfect with crispbread and lingonberry jam.

The Nærøyfjord

The fjord on which Undredal looks out is one of Norway's narrowest and most spectacular: at some points the rock walls are barely 250 metres apart. A kayak hired at the village is the best way to explore it in silence. Alternatively, the tourist ferries from Flåm to Gudvangen pass in front of Undredal, but few visitors disembark — most continue without knowing what they are missing.

The hikes

The trail that climbs from the church into the mountains reaches the summer pastures in about two hours of walking. The view from above over the fjord and the miniaturised village is one of the finest panoramas in all of western Norway. In winter, the same route on snowshoes offers an almost supernatural silence.

What to eat

• Undredal brunost — the sweet, caramel-like brown goat's cheese, produced locally. Try it on a slice of bread with raspberry jam.
• White geitost — the fresh goat's cheese, more delicate, perfect with walnuts.
• Rømmegrøt — Norwegian sour cream porridge, rich and comforting, served with melted butter, sugar and cinnamon.
• Fjord smoked salmon — if you find a fisherman willing to sell you his salmon, you will have tasted something unforgettable.

There is no restaurant in the traditional sense. The village's small café serves soups, cakes and coffee, but the real gastronomic experience is the cheese bought at the dairy.

How to get there

Undredal lies on the southern shore of the Nærøyfjord, 20 kilometres from Flåm. By car, it is reached through a tunnel from the E16 (turn off at Gudvangen). From Bergen, allow about 3 hours of driving through breathtaking scenery. The most scenic approach is to take the Flåm-Gudvangen ferry and disembark at Undredal (check timetables: not all boats stop). The Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana), one of the most beautiful train lines in the world, connects Myrdal to Flåm; from there the boat takes you to Undredal.

When to go

The best period runs from May to September. June and July offer the longest days and mild temperatures (15-20°C), perfect for kayaking and hiking. September rewards with spectacular autumn colours. Spring (May) sees the waterfalls at their most powerful, swollen with snowmelt. Winter is beautiful but demanding: snow, darkness and sub-zero temperatures, offset by absolute silence and the possibility of the northern lights.

Undredal is the place where the concept of undertourism becomes reality: a village that has never sought to become a tourist destination and that, for precisely this reason, offers the conscious traveller something rare and precious.