Step into Norway’s storybook: Nature and myth still sit side by side in Haugesund and Ryfylke

Viking tales from Karmøy

This region is one of the birthplaces of Norway, and the coastline still holds traces of the people who shaped the nation. Long before Norway was a country, the sea lanes along the west coast were the highway everyone depended on. The stretch of sheltered waters around Karmøy, named Karmsundet, became known as Nordvegen – “the way north”. From that route, the name Norway eventually grew.

Stand by the quiet shore at Avaldsnes and it’s easy to understand why kings chose this spot. The strait is narrow, sheltered and simple to control. Today, you can wander between traces of an old royal seat, boathouses, burial mounds and stories that cling to the landscape like sea mist. It’s not loud or dramatic, more the feeling of walking on historic ground in the footsteps of the vikings.

Iconic shapes - landscape that tells stories in Haugesund and Ryfylke

Western Norway’s terrain is full of formations created by ice, weather and folklore, and every shape seems to come with a story attached.

Across the Haugesund region and Ryfylke, the land doesn’t just sit there quietly. It points, curves, leans and twists in ways that make you wonder what actually happened here. Science gives one version. Local stories give another. And between the two, the landscape suddenly feels far less silent.

Deep inside Åkrafjorden, in the UNESCO-listed Sunnhordland Geopark, huge round potholes called jettegryter curve into the bedrock like bowls carved with impossible precision. Geologists say they were formed by swirling meltwater after the last Ice Age. Locals like to joke that they’re nature’s own fingerprints, a reminder that the land has been busy for a very long time.

Follow the fjord landscape a bit further and you reach Langfoss, one of Norway’s most forceful waterfalls. Its roar alone is impressive, but the old Norwegian folklore of the Fossegrim adds a nice little twist. Somewhere in the spray, the tale says, a fiddle-playing spirit waits for offerings and rewards generosity with music lessons. Offer him something tasty on a Thursday night, and he’ll teach you to play like the best of them. Offer him something too lean, and you’ll only learn to tune your instrument. Either way, it adds a charming twist to the roar of the water. Are you the next great fiddleplayer taught by the Fossegrim?

Over in Nedstrand, a cliff shaped like a woman gazing out over the water carries another favourite tale. The story tells of a giantess rushing out early one morning with a pot of porridge for a neighbour who had just given birth. She didn’t beat the sunrise and turned to stone on the spot. The porridge pot tumbled downhill, leaving a dent in the rock that you can still see today. The hike up is lovely, and it’s easy to picture the whole scene once you reach the top.

Preikestolen and Kjerag- made by trolls?

And then there’s Lysefjorden: steep, bright granite walls and a textbook example of how ice carved its way through mountains. But locals have long preferred a livelier explanation – trolls battling through the night, hurling boulders in every direction until daylight froze them mid-stride.

As you follow the trails toward Preikestolen and Kjerag, it’s easy to see why these stories stuck. People here tell of trolls arguing across the fjord and throwing rocks until one lodged itself between the cliffs, today known as Kjeragbolten. Others say a furious troll struck the mountainside with his staff, splitting the rock and leaving the flat top of Preikestolen behind. There’s even a gentler tale about trolls shaping a flat place to “preach”. Look around as you walk and the landscape almost backs the stories up; from echoes said to come from a troll turning in his sleep to the idea of a light-keeper flashing through the fog to keep the trolls away.

Those big “out-of-place” rocks you see along ridges and valley floors? Either Ice Age leftovers… or trolls who didn’t move fast enough at sunrise.

Panoramahyttene and The Bolder - architecture in western Norway built to blend

In Ryfylke and Haugesund, even the unique places to stay take cues from the landscape. After spending time among rock formations shaped by ice, giants and old folk tales, it makes sense that modern architecture leans in the same direction. Buildings aren’t dropped into the scenery – they’re designed as if they grew out of it.

Panoramahyttene at Karmøy were designed to look like ancient boulders left behind by glaciers. They don’t stand on the terrain so much as slide quietly into it. From the wide panoramic windows you can sit warm and comfortable inside while the light shifts and the changing weather in the horizon. And out here by the coast, you won’t hear the roar of the Fossegrim, just the steady, calming rhythm of the wild North Sea.

Further inland, high above Lysefjorden, The Bolder rest between twisted pines and stones left behind by ancient ice. Four of them were designed by Snøhetta, placed so precisely that the surroundings barely seem to notice them. The cabins are modern, warm and stylish, the kind of place where you sip your morning coffee and feel the whole landscape settle into a slower rhythm. The kind of place you find yourself thinking about long after you’ve left.

Cider with a hint of folklore in Hjelmeland

Local food traditions here are tightly linked to the land, the orchards and the old stories that have lived in the area for generations. Hjelmeland, tucked between hills and orchards, has long been known for fruit growing. On one of the local farms, Fevoll, the folk tale goes like this: Every Christmas Eve, a group of mountain spirits, the Huldra, came dancing out of Valafjell, causing trouble for the farm workers. One year, a brave farmhand had enough. When he fired a warning shot, the startled spirits fled back into the mountain, slamming the door shut behind them and throwing the key into the rocks outside. People still claim you can spot the pale “door” in the cliff if the light hits it right.

Valafjell is also known for its many faces and figures in the rock face. Local legends say that these faces, including the particularly well-known Valagubben, have mysterious and supernatural connections. Can you spot the face from the farm?

Today, that same farm produces crisp, refreshing cider under the names Huldra and Valagubben. The stories are part of the flavour, a natural result of cider made in a landscape full of myths and legends.

Where the landscape does the talking

In Haugesund and Ryfylke, the landscape doesn’t rush you. It gives you room to breathe. And in that quiet, the stories begin to feel closer. The Viking heritage around Karmøy. The giantess at Nedstrand. The fiddle-playing spirit at Langfoss. Trolls in Lysefjorden. The faces in Valafjell. The tales tied to orchards and cider presses in Hjelmeland. Nothing is staged or exaggerated – the stories simply live in the terrain.

Stand by the sea, look up at a cliff carved by ice, or sit with a glass of local cider, and the feeling is the same: this part of Norway doesn’t need to impress you. It just lets the landscape do the talking. Come and experience it for yourself.