Uskedalen is located between Husnes and Rosendal, and lies right at the entry to the Kvinnherad alps. It being easily accessible by sea, it was the perfect destination for a weekend sailing trip from Bergen that we wanted to combine in a sail and hike trip.
From Uskedalen there are several real mountains up to more than 1200 m.a.s.l to choose from: Manen, Englafjell, Tverrfjell, Såta, Nipen, Geitadalstind, Ulvanosa, or Storhaug and Solfjell, to name a few. The landscape is impressive, and the mountains higher than they look from the harbour. Hiking in this area gives a small resemblance to some places in the alps on a good weather day.
We sailed out of Bergen on the Friday afternoon and arrived in Uskedalen harbour late Friday night. There were no issue finding a space for the sailboat. You can read about the sailtrip to Uskedalen here.
Hiking from Uskedalen via Storhaug to Mannvatnet
On our sail and hike weekend we were lucky enough to have temperatures of 30 degree celscius which is exceptionally hot for being in Norway. We spent some time having a morning bath and a relaxing breakfast and decided the hike should not be too long in this heat.
The hike went to Storhaug and Mannsvatnet towards Sofjellet. This is a medium hike with wonderful views towards the higher mountains Englafjell and Ulvanosa, and the Kvinnheradsfjorden.
We started the hike from the harbour and headed north-east towards the Knapphus Bensinstasjon, and turned right into Halsabrotet. From here we followed the signpost to Mannsvatnet and the hiking path started at the end of the road behind some houses.
The first climb takes you up to a hill with a very picturesque view towards the entire Uskedalen valley, the other large mountains and the harbour and fairway we had sailed the night before.
Continuing from here the path gets steeper and stays steep for most of the way up to Storhaug. Here you hike in the forrest and there were high trees reducing the views for most of the way up to Storhaug.
At Storhaug there is a cabin (private) and some public benches where you can have a rest or simply enjoy the view before turning back down. Here you start seeing the wonderful views of the Englafjell and Ulvanosa on the one side and the Kvinnheradsfjord and massive mountains in Rosendal on the other.
From here the route becomes flatter and you are now above the treeline. The terrain becomes more open and you have a 360 degree view when you continue the hike into Mannsvatnet. Particularly nice is the view towards Rosendal and Melderskin, the fjord, and of course the impressive Ulvanosa with its characteristic curves and valleys.
At Mannsvatnet (the lake) it is possible to continue to Solfjellsaksla or go around the lake to make the hike longer. We decided to turn around here and return the same route we came.
The breeze on top made it comfortable but heading back into the forrest for the decent was pretty warm. At one point the temperature said 31,7 degrees! However, in normal weather I can imagine the temperature would drop quite a lot up here and more clothes would be needed. It is rather unusual to be hiking this high up with so little clothes here in Norway, even in the summer.
If you have troubled knees the hike back down might be an issue, as you then realize it was a pretty steep ascent.
Back in the woods we could enjoy the magic and troll-like very green scenery. And as always it is all about taking in the nice the views on the decent.
Back in the harbour a nice refreshing bath was very overdue by the time we returned to the boat!
On the Sunday morning we woke up to rain and decided not to hike another one after such a good day the day before. We simply headed back towards Bergen in the rain, hoping for the sun to come out. It did!
We will definitely try to return to Uskedalen later this summer for more hiking. I can imagine staying here for several days and do a new hike every day. Hope to see you again very soon, Uskedalen!
