Ridderspranget

Ridderspranget (The Knight’s leap) is a narrow gorge through Sjodalen in the river Sjoa. Ridderspranget is easy to get to, with a drivable road which turns off road 51, 5 km south of Randsverk. From the car park it is only a short walk to the gorge. Please don´t try to jump across the gorge. It is highly dangerous!

About Ridderspranget (The Knight’s leap)

Love is what gave Ridderspranget, meaning the knight’s leap, its name and place in Norwegian literature. It was somewhere in the 14th century that a girl so beautiful lighted up the dark ages. Her beauty won the heart of the knight of Valdres named Sigvat på Kvie. But while the girl’s heart also loved Sigvat, she was destined to marry Iva Gjæsling, knight of Sandbu in Vågå.
One day the lovestruck Sigvat rode all the way from Valdres to Sanbu, robbed the girl, Skårvangs-sole, from Iva’s house, set it on fire and disappeared like a thief in the night. Being pursued by his rival, Sigvat and his love drove on and on till they reached the Sjoa river, flowing through a gorge they could not cross. With Iva’s hate on their heels, it was love that made Sigvat and Skårvangs-sole take the knight’s leap over a gorge we now know as Ridderspranget...

You get to Ridderspranget by following the signs on Rv51. There is a parking lot with information, picknick table and rest-rooms close to the gorge. From here it is a short walk up to the gorge. Ridderspranget is a beautiful but also hazardous place. Please be careful at all times and do not jump  off the cliff as this is extremely dangerous. Ridderspranget is a current in the river Sjoa formed when the river has gnawed deep into bedrock.