Every design for Øvre Årdal

At the northern end of Årdalsvatnet, a lake that runs for kilometres between the villages, Norsk Hydro's aluminium smelter stands at the heart of Øvre Årdal. The plant is the major employer in the area, and the village around it is the larger of the two main villages in Årdal Municipality, with Årdalstangen at the opposite end of the water.

Few places put heavy industry and high mountains this close together, and that pairing is the feeling of the place. From the village, Tindevegen climbs through the Fardalen valley to Turtagrø, one of the highest roads in Norway, and paths lead into the Utladalen Landscape Protection Area and Jotunheimen National Park: to the Vettisfossen waterfall, to the peak of Falketind and to the historic farms of Vetti, Vettismorki and Avdalen. Closer to home, Ytre Moa holds traces of the people who lived here long before the smelter, Rallarmonumentet honours the navvies, and Farnes Church dates from 1970. On match days, Årdal FK plays at Jotun stadium.

Drive up along the lake from Årdalstangen, watch the smelter appear where the water ends, and Øvre Årdal is home again.