Tokke
Municipality · Telemark
About Tokke
The dragon-style Dalen Hotel at the end of the Telemark Canal, Eidsborg stave church and the deep Ravnejuvet gorge.
What to do and where to stay in Tokke
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1Dalen HotelHistory & culture
A 'fairytale' wooden hotel from 1894 with dragon heads, towers and spires at the end of the Telemark Canal; its Restaurant Bandak serves lunch and dinner.
Dalen, by Lake Bandak · 30 min (look) – 1.5 h (meal) · mid-February to mid-December
2Eidsborg Stave ChurchHistory & culture
Samples from 2023 suggest this stave church was built just before 1150, among Norway's five oldest; locals venerated its St Nicholas image as 'Nikuls'.
Eidsborg, Fv 45 between Høydalsmo and Dalen · 45 min (tour) · summer; guided tours 11:00, 13:00, 15:00; closed mid-October to mid-April
3Vest-Telemark Museum EidsborgHistory & culture
Beside the stave church, an open-air museum of more than 30 old buildings that tells the story of Eidsborg whetstone, exported for about 1,000 years.
Museumsvegen 9, Eidsborg · 1.5–2 h · summer season (check hours); café in the main building
4StålekleivloftetLocal oddity
A storehouse probably built in 1184, one of the world's oldest secular wooden buildings, with a runic inscription from about 1300, now at the Eidsborg museum.
Vindlaus farm, Vest-Telemark Museum Eidsborg · 15–20 min · museum season
5Ravnejuvet (Raven Gorge)Viewpoint
A cliff dropping about 350 m to the Tokkeåi river where the updraft is said to be strong enough to blow a thrown banknote or leaf back to you.
Ravnejuvvegen 100, above Dalen · 30–45 min · Summer; check the road and opening hours before you go
6The suspension bridge across HellHike
A 9 km round walk from Dalen crosses a footbridge over Helveteshylen, the falls log drivers feared, after 2 km, then goes on to Åsland, a thing site from about 1300.
Starts at Tokke Kulturhus, Storvegen 211, Dalen · 3 h (9 km return) · May–October; brown trout run upstream in autumn
7Rui stone staircase ('Beintsteberg')Hike
810 whetstone steps laid by Sherpas from Nepal climb 200 m from Dalen to the old Rui farm, following the Rui girls whose statue stands at the tourist office.
Opposite Dalen B&B by the ambulance station, Dalen · 20–30 min up to Rui; about 2 h one way on to Eidsborg · April–October
8BufjordstigenNature
A flat lakeside walk from Dalen pier past the whetstone shipping point, a beach, Dalen Hotel's garden and stepping stones to the beaver-rich delta island Buøy.
Starts at Dalen Bryggje (Lastein pier) · 1–2 h · April–October (listing also says all year)
9Åmdals Verk minesHistory & culture
A copper mine worked from 1691 to 1945, with a mining museum and guided walks underground at 6–8°C, from a short 1 km tour to a 2.3 km long tour.
Åmdalsvegen 42A, Åmdals Verk (Skafså) · 1.5–2.5 h · summer (late June–mid August, Tue–Sun 11–17)
10GrimdalstunetHistory & culture
A 1600s mountain farm at 630 m, home of sculptor Anne Grimdalen, with ten old farm buildings, her sculptures and Karl Erik Harr's Draumkvedet paintings.
Borsævegen 395 A, 9 km from Dalen towards Setesdal · 1 h · summer (late June–mid August, Tue–Sun 11–17)