Norwegian National Road 7 ( no, Riksvei 7, ) is a

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

which runs from the town of

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2008, ...

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

county to the village of

Granvin Granvin is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it merged with Voss Municipality. The municipality was located in the traditional district of Hardanger. ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

county. The route is long and runs east–west through Viken and Vestland counties over the vast

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ye ...

plateau. The road begins at the

European route E16 European route E16 is the designation of a main west-east road through Northern Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Sweden, from Derry to Gävle, via Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, previously by ferry to Bergen, Voss, through the Gudvanga Tunnel and th ...

highway just south of Heradsbygda in Ringerike municipality and runs through the Sogna river valley to the village of

Sokna Sokna is a small village located between Hønefoss and Krøderen in the municipality of Ringerike, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. Its population is 543. Location Sokna is located in the valley of Soknedalen, between the Sogna and Ver ...

(this part is called the ''Soknedalsveien''). It then continues further on to Hamremoen and up along the east side of the lake Krøderen to

Gulsvik Gulsvik is a village in the municipality of Flå in Buskerud, Norway. It is located in Hallingdal at the north end of Lake Krøderen. The center of the village lies at Gulsvik Rail Station. Bergensbanen railway terminated at Gulsvik Station fr ...

where it crosses the river and then follows the

Hallingdalen Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. H ...

valley through

Flå Flå is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Flå. The municipality of Flå was established when it was separated from the municipality of Nes on 1 January 1905. The municipal ...

Nesbyen Nesbyen is a town and the administrative center in Nesbyen municipality in the county of Viken, Norway. Nesbyen is located in the traditional district of Hallingdal. Summary Nesbyen has a population of about 3,500 inhabitants. It is located ...

, Gol,

Torpo Torpo is a small village in Ål municipality, in Viken County, Norway, and can be reached by using highway 7. The name Torpo was adopted July 1, 1935 from the old name Torpe. At this date the train station and local post office started using th ...

Ål Ål is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administ ...

, Hol, and

Geilo is a centre in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway. Geilo is primarily a ski resort town, with around 2,500 inhabitants. It is situated in the valley of Hallingdal, 250 km from Oslo and 260 km from Bergen. The Bergen Line ...

(this part is called the ''Hallingdalsveien''). From there, the road begins its path across the

plateau via

Ustaoset Ustaoset is a village in Hol municipality, Buskerud, Norway. It is located on Norwegian National Road 7 (''Riksvei 7''). Ustaoset is situated above sea level and is the finish for the cross country ski event Skarverennet. Ustaoset first came ...

and Haugastøl, passing the Vøringsfossen waterfall while descending down through 4 tunnels (including the 1,893-meter Måbø Tunnel) into the

Måbødalen Måbødalen ( en, Måbø Valley) is a narrow valley in Eidfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long valley begins at the village of Øvre Eidfjord and ends at the Sysendalen valley on the western side of the Hardangervidda plateau ...

valley in

Eidfjord Eidfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Eidfjord, where the majority of the municipal popula ...

. The road follows the

Eid Fjord The Eid Fjord ( no, Eidfjorden) is the innermost part of the Hardanger Fjord in Norway. It extends eastwards from the Utne Fjord and Sørfjorden. The Eid Fjord lies in the municipalities of Ullensvang, Ulvik, and Eidfjord in Vestland county. ...

for a ways before crossing the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

via the

Hardanger Bridge The Hardanger Bridge ( no, Hardangerbrua) is a suspension bridge across the Eidfjorden branch off of the main Hardangerfjorden in Vestland county, Norway. The bridge connects the municipalities of Ullensvang and Ulvik. It replaced a ferry con ...

(opened in 2013 - there was a ferry here prior to that time). The road continues through the

Vallavik Tunnel The Vallavik Tunnel ( no, Vallaviktunnelen) is a road tunnel in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel begins on the north edge of the village of Eide in the municipality of Voss and runs to the southeast, ending at the small farm of Vallaviki in the ...

before reaching its terminus at the village of

Voss Municipality Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...

. The portion of the road from Haugestøl to Eidfjord (over the Hardangervidda plateau) is designated a National Tourist Route.

Improvements

In June 2014, a long stretch of new road was opened in Ringerike-

Krødsherad Krødsherad (''Krødsherad kommune'') is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Noresund. The municipality of Krødsherad was established when it was separated from the municipali ...

. Compared to the old road, it includes some long tunnels, is less curved, and shortens the journey between

and Ørgenvika. The

(opened in 2013) also shortened the travel time, making Road 7 the fastest option for travelling Oslo–Bergen by road. There are also some unofficial proposals to build a long tunnel under the

plateau, because this stretch is often closed due to snow storms in the winter.

References

007 Roads in Vestland Roads in Viken National Tourist Routes in Norway {{Norway-road-stub