Levanger - Tautra (the outer trail)

Take the train to Levanger (from Trondheim Central Station or Trondheim Værnes Airport) in the morning or leave earlier for an overnight stay at the venerable Thon Hotel Backlund in the historic town of Levanger with its wooden houses.

The pilgrimage walk begins through the town of Levanger, where the entire town centre is protected by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage due to its unique wooden buildings from the early 20th century. Visit Levanger Church in the town centre and enjoy a stroll along the canal and over the bridge.

Continue through the beautiful, blooming arboretum in Staupslia and through a new cultural landscape to the impressive pilgrim church of Alstadhaug from 1180.

The last stage of today’s pilgrimage walk leads along the Trondheim fjord, with the opportunity to stop for a dip, perhaps at Holsandbukta beach in Skogn. From here, the path leads inland towards the Falstad Centre. The Falstad Centre was a prison camp during the Second World War. Today it serves as a memorial site and human rights centre. It houses a museum, a national archive, a learning resource centre, a café and a high-standard hostel for pilgrims.

The pilgrimage walk continues from the Falstad Centre along a paved road and through a deep forest. Around midday, you will reach Lake Sottjønna, with benches and picnic tables where you can rest, and have the opportunity to take a dip. Later, the path continues towards Frosta, and after a lovely walk along the Trondheim fjord, you will reach the Hellberg Hostel where you can spend the night.

If you want to avoid a long walk on a paved road, shorten the pilgrimage, or enjoy hotel accommodations for the entire route, you can book transport or a taxi at this stage. Or you can continue a few more kilometres past Hellberg to Fånesbukta and start your walk on the Frosta path (see Day 3, which would then be Day 2 for you).

Today, the walk will take you a short distance along the Trondheim fjord until you reach Fånesbukta, where you’ll continue along the lovely Frosta path that winds its way from the fjord, through the woods and cultural landscape and down to the beach. This stretch has lovely spots with benches where you can take a break, and both the Oldervik Hostel (should be arranged in advance) and the Småland harbour are worth a visit.

The walk along the Frosta path will bring you to Ryggjavika, and you can take the path up to the cultural heritage sites of Tinghaugen and Logtun Church, about 1.5 km from the Frosta path. Here, there is an open-air rural museum with benches and information material about the cultural heritage sites.

Continue another 2.5 km to the stately Valberg Slektsgård where you can spend the night. Valberg Slektsgård offers a farm hotel, gourmet food and a farm shop

The walk begins in the morning from Valberg Slektsgård and takes you down to the jetty (2.7 km) out to Tautra, and onward to the dock for the pilgrim boat (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays*) to Trondheim. Tautra has a unique array of bird species, and you may spot some of them along this route.

The pilgrim boat offers a memorable boat trip across the Trondheim fjord to Trondheim harbour. The walk continues along the quays and seafront to Trondheim city centre and ends by the Nidelva river in the oldest part of Trondheim. This was once a medieval town, and there are cultural relics along these narrow streets where Saint Olav made his final journey. Information about these can be found in the Klemenskirken church.

Finally, the walk ends at the Nidaros Cathedral and the “nought kilometre stone”, indicating that you have reached your pilgrimage goal. Then it’s time for a visit to Nidaros Pilegrimsgård for registration, where you will receive a certificate and can enjoy a delicious pilgrim meal to celebrate your completed pilgrimage.

If you’re travelling from Tautra on a day other than a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, you can book more flexible transportation with AtB (i.e. a taxi for the price of a bus ticket) from Tautra to Åsen, and then take the train from Åsen station to Trondheim. See Route 4, Levanger to Stjørdal, Day