Visiting this area is time travel – to the old culture of manors
Värmland, Sweden: The locals declare this area as Eventyrdalen – or the Adventure Valley of Brattfallet, but you need a great deal of courage to experience the adventure and airy jumps. Make sure you have the bravery and in addition are free for fear of heights, then you just have to take a step and suddenly you are about to fly over the mighty gap of valley and the fall. Next part of the adventure is to walk on a straight line across a valley and then move the scary 20 meters down the rope from Burma Bridge.
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We have been on tour visited the wild and beautiful west part of Värmland, the area not far from the Norwegian border and mostly famous for the city of Karlstad, countless of dance-bands, where the music flows and Sweden’s best ice hockey team. But Värmland has much more to offer; it applies only to step over the border of fair.
Nobel Prize Winner. The most peculiar about people in Värmland is that so many are good in telling stories and that they simultaneously make you feel as we are visiting the world’s central point – despite the fact that you really are next to the lake Fryken and surrounded by endless of forest. Not so strange when you know that Selma Lagerlof from Mårbacka won the Nobel Literature Prize for her stories, many of them from this area.
Manor houses. Visiting Värmland is a kind of time travel – to the old culture of manors. Lagerlof’s Mårbacka is a most-visited museum, while others manors belong to history and is part of the present.
From the dining hall at Ulvsby Herrgård north of Sunne you look to a lake and countryside where food is produced. We enjoy food sourced from local producers and served with an exquisite culinary art. Ulvsby´s history started in 1630 and the mansion is open year-round. Dömle Herrgård located in Deje is another beautiful and romantic option, so beautiful that they organise 30 annual wedding parties at this mansion with its own church.
Art. Around Torsby you find culture farms and art galleries and in that respect Sahlströmsgården is a meeting point out of the ordinary. The place has an art treasure on the walls, many of them the result of the former owners three children and their friends. The place provides hotel and restaurant.
Folkrace. Rally cross star Petter Solberg and his wife Pernilla live on the Swedish part of the border between Norway and Sweden. The couple’s adventure center provides services and activity with fast cars and snowmobile made for winter safaris. For me folkrace was a new experience, a kind of rally cross with two cars at the same time on the track, perfect if you like to challenge yourself under secure conditions. It will not be wilder than driving rally cross on the wild side of Sweden.
The Story. Visiting Värmland was like a good story living on the wild side. A journey takes you to new places, from great manor houses on the country side to big lakes and meeting people. Värmland fills you with good stories – because it´s the land of dedicated storytellers.
Make it Happen!
Touch Down: There are three airports in Varmand; Karstad, Torsby and in Hagfors. The railway company SJ operates about nine trains daily on weekdays between Värmland and Stockholm, Gothenburg and Oslo, Norway.
Stay: Ulvsby Herrgård near Sunne is a place to go to when you want to meet and relax. Selma Lagerlöf wrote about the house in the novel Gösta Berlings Saga, and when you stay here you will be a part of the story. Dömle Herrård is another classic manor house. Many Swedish campsites have a great selection of top quality holiday cabins.
Eat: Ulvsby Manor is at the center of the ‘Värmlandic Food Kingdom’ where local producers have created the many delicacies to be found in this area. Since 2015 Ulvsby Herrgård is in the White Guide. Ulvsbyherrgard.se Each region has its own speciality. Follow the White Guide – Sweden’s very own restaurant guide will send you straight to the best places.
Play: Foreign tourists usually only come to Värmland during the summer, but the Swedes are also fond of Värmland in the winter
Mini Guide: Abbas mountain bikes in Vägsjöfors, about 20km north of Torsby, is the place to go on tour with your own or a rented bike on 180km of bike tracks in the area.
