Twenty kilometres of switchbacks and waterfalls connect the fjord village of Flåm to the high mountain junction at Myrdal.
The Flåmsbana climbs 866 metres in under twenty kilometres, a gradient steep enough that the line needed five separate reversing tunnels blasted through solid rock to manage it without switchbacks on the surface. From the fjord-level village of Flåm the train winds up through farmland, then birch forest, then bare mountain, crossing the same valley on different levels so many times that you lose count.
The set-piece stop is Kjosfossen, a thundering waterfall where the train pauses for a few minutes so passengers can get out onto a viewing platform right beside the falls, close enough to feel the spray. In summer a red-clad figure sometimes appears on the rocks above — a nod to local folklore about the huldra, the forest spirits said to lure travellers with song.
At the top, Myrdal connects to the main Oslo–Bergen line, which means you can build a full day out of it: ride the Bergen Railway across the high Hardangervidda plateau, change at Myrdal, and descend the Flåm branch to sea level before catching a fjord cruise onward from the village itself.
Sit on the right-hand side heading down toward Flåm for the best waterfall and valley views. The full descent takes about an hour, and even in July the higher sections can be genuinely cold — pack a proper layer, not just a cardigan.
