Cruises from Kinsarvik

Kinsarvik is a small village in Hordaland Norway. It was a municipality, but a ruling that you have to have 5,000 residents to be a city has since taken it down to a village. Today, Kinsarvik has only 459 permanent residents. The municipality was first established in 1838 along with many of the cities in Norway. Today the administration function for Kinsarvik lies in Ullensvang.

Before moving into some of the tourist areas that you won’t want to miss, a bit of history is in order. The Sami were very prevalent in Kinsarvik as reindeer herders. It was in the 1900s that the reindeer population seen today began, but there were several prehistoric troops as well. The Sami first began in the Viking era. After the Norse saga came Christianity, which is still practiced today in Kinsarvik.

The first place to visit in Kinsarvik is the church. The church was built in 1160 and is one of the oldest structures in all of Norway. During the Middle Ages the Kinsarvik Church was home to the market, legal magistrate, as well as religion. It was extremely important to the municipality. Many ships stored their masts and sails in the church attic during winter, another interesting aspect of its historical importance.

Huse Valley is part of the Kinso river area in Kinsarvik. The river drops 3600 feet from the Hardangervidda and into the valley before reaching the fjord at Kinsarvik. There are four magnificent waterfalls along the river. To view all of these you will need to undertake a four to six hour hike. The trails are also a bit slippery, so they are not ideal for the faint-hearted! Still, if you can get to the waterfalls along the trail you will be rewarded at each stop with magnificent views.

Hardanger Bestikk factory began in 1958 and is a factory of flatware utensils. The factory is very interesting to visit because you can watch the craftsmen making a variety of different styles of flatware. They also do a lot of Viking age work for utensils.

When visiting Kinsarvik by plane or car you can stay in the Hardangrtun camping ground. There are spectacular views and pleasant enough weather to have a great stay. Kinsarvik is located in southwestern Norway. This means you have mild climates with temperatures that are comfortable most of the year. In fact the climate will hardly fall below 0 degrees Celsius in the year. The warmest months are June and July, but these months can experience some rainfall.

The 1970s changed tourism for Kinsarvik, as it became less of a ferry port for residents. However, you still get to see the ferry, magnificent views and even the Hardangerbrua bridge. No matter where you visit in Kinsarvik there is plenty to do. You have the church, a museum, and boat tours of the fjord. You can also take many hikes along the river and through the surrounding area. Kinsarvik is a travellers’ paradise.