Flåm

Name

The name Flåm is documented as early as 1340 as Flaam. It is derived from the plural dative form of the Old Norse word flá meaning "plain, flat piece of land," and it refers to the flat plains surrounding the Flåm river valley which sits between steep mountains.^[8][9][10]

Air

The closest airport is Sogndal Airport, Haukåsen, approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) from Flåm.

Road

The European route E16 highway between Oslo and Bergen runs through Flåm. The village sits about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southwest of the municipal centre of Aurlandsvangen, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the village of Undredal, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of the village of Gudvangen (through the Gudvanga Tunnel).

The Navvy road, Rallarvegen, stretches from Myrdal down to Flåm; pedestrians and bicyclists still use it.^[5] At Myrdal, it connects with the Navvy road for the previously built Bergen Line.

Rail

Flåm is also connected by rail through the Flåm Line, a branch line of the Bergen Line, the line itself travels though picturesque views so is popular with tourists.^[11]

Sea

The port can take up to three cruise-ships a day, although there is a limit of 5,000 passengers leaving the ship at a time.^[12] In 2020, it was announced that a large 16MVA power connection was going to be built, allowing ships to turn off their engines while docked^[13] (known as "Cold ironing") and in May 2025 a contractor was announced.^[14]

Issues due to tourism

Air pollution in Flåm and nearby Geiranger during the cruise season is similar to that of a big city. Cruise traffic in Norway, which is one of the largest exporters of oil in the world, emits more NOx than all road traffic in Norway combined.^[17][18] In a 2005 Bergens Tidende article, Kjetil Smørås (a hotel director and chairman of Fjord Norge said, "The cruise traffic pollutes more than several ten thousands of cars, and many of the worst ships sail up here (...) cruise tourists trod down the pristine Norwegian nature, and destroy the foundation for Vestlandet's four entries on Unesco's World Heritage lists."^[19]

In 2009, Jens Riisnæs (an author and NRK journalist) said, "We have the world's most beautiful nation, we don't need to follow the cruise operators' premises. They can go other places with their polluting ships. It is unwanted noise."^[19]

In 2009, Dagens Næringsliv said that a report by Vestlandsforskning says that both, "Flåm and Geiranger are nearing a limit in capacity. It might be an alternative and rather stand forth as a «relaxed», exclusive and somewhat less of a mass tourism, cruise destination."^[19]

In a 2014 Dagens Næringsliv article, a farmer said, "Previously the smell of summer was that of grass that had been cut. Now the smell is of heavy oil."^[5] A retired couple also talk about fish that have disappeared from the fjord. In Norway, cruise ships are permitted to dump overboard their greywater in the postcard-narrow fjord-arms.^[5] Furthermore, the news article says that defecation in public by tourists, is already a problem; the village's train station has the only public toilets, and 200,000 tourists are expected in the summer season.^[5]

In 2014, tourism professor Arvid Viken said, "it is about time this [type of] tourism is evaluated somewhat more soberly than how it has been done in many municipalities for some years."^[20] Furthermore, the tourism "has low profit per tourist, but is often associated with considerable costs for the municipal administrations."^[20]