Åseral
Municipality · Agder
About Åseral
Sosteli's Migration Period farm remains, a 600-year-old storehouse at Ljosland and fishing lakes and trails in the Setesdal Vesthei.
What to do and where to stay in Åseral
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1Sosteli Iron Age farmHistory & culture
House foundations, fields and stone fences of a farm lived in from about the birth of Christ to 1000 AD, dug in 1946–49; finds show iron-making and hunting.
About 2 km from Kyrkjebygda · 1–1.5 h · May–October
2Ljosland stabburHistory & culture
A storehouse about 600 years old standing next to the 1959 chapel in Ljosland, in the Vestredalen valley of north Åseral.
Next to Ljosland Chapel, Ljosland · 15 min · all year (outside)
3Åseral ChurchHistory & culture
A white cross-shaped wooden church from 1822 on a church site recorded in 1328, with logs from the older church reused in the porch.
Kyrkjebygda · 15–20 min · all year (outside)
4Minne kultursenter and the Apple GardenHistory & culture
Åseral's culture house beside the church, with local-history exhibitions and films, art shows, a small café serving local dishes such as kompe, and a large apple garden.
Next to the church, Kyrkjebygda · 30–60 min · all year; events in July
5Eikerapen waterfallHike
A waterfall above the Eikerapen ski slopes, reached on a 3.4 km loop past a rock called the Troll Tower, with about 190 m of climbing on steep, partly unmarked paths.
Eikerapen, south Åseral · about 1–1.5 h (3.4 km loop) · June–October
6Paddling at BortelidActivity
Rent a canoe or kayak on Bortelidtjønna or Beinsvatn from the Bortelid service office, from 250 kr with life jackets and paddles included.
Bortelid service centre, northeast Åseral · 1–3 h · summer
7Åknes Church by LognevatnetHistory & culture
A white wooden church built in 1873 on the shore of Lognevatnet after locals fought for it, 400 m from where a medieval church stood until the Black Death.
Åknes, by Lognevatnet · 15 min · all year (outside)
8Bortelid disc golf courseActivity
An 18-basket disc golf course starting at the Bortelid ski centre, with the first nine baskets on easier, flatter ground; discs and maps at the service office.
Bortelid ski centre, northeast Åseral · 1–2 h · snow-free season
9Bouldering rock by the Kyrkjebygda football pitchLocal oddity
Åseral's village centre has a boulder next to the football pitch in the sports park, where anyone can try bouldering between visits to Minne and the church.
Sports park, Kyrkjebygda · 15–45 min · snow-free season
10SkraddarburetLocal secretHistory & culture
The tailor's storehouse on the farm Der Nede at Austegard, said to be the oldest medieval building in old Vest-Agder. On a working farm: ask before walking in.
Der Nede, Austegard: over the Lognavatn bridge, past Åknes, over the next bridge, right to the road's end · 20 min