Bakka

We are now passing by the lush hamlets of Bakka and Tufto. The fjord is at its narrowest here, just 250 metres wide and the precipitous mountains on either side rise a formidable 1400 metres up into the clouds. The people who live here have learnt to live from and with the nature, through hunting, foraging and agriculture. The result is the beautiful landscape that we are now passing, with lush open meadows and farms surrounded by grazing land. In the summer they would traditionally take their livestock and move thousands of metres up to the summer farms. The pretty little church that you can see, was established by local farmers in 1859 and stands as a bauta and a landmark in the idyllic fjord. There have probably been people living here since the iron age. Many of the buildings still look like they would have done in the 1800s and are a very popular motif for photographs. The road that you can see was originally a cart road but was adapted for cars in 1978. This stretch is extremely prone to landslides of either snow or small rocks, it is therefore often closed, but is nevertheless very important so that the people and cultural landscapes in Bakka and Tufto can be taken care of.