The Telemark Canal

The Telemark Canal with its beautiful locks starts in Skien and ends in Dalen. Join various day trips or boat trips with accommodation.

Welcome to the world's most beautiful canal, The Telemark canal!
8 spectacular locking facilities with a total of 18 lock chambers lift the boat and passengers 72 meters from the start in Skien to the end of the canal, Dalen. The Telemark Canal is an adventurous waterway with narrow rivers, large lakes, ancient cultural history, and slugging. 

Day trip on the canal or boat trips with accommodation
You can choose between different day trips or boat trips with accommodation. It is the 2 canal boats MS Victoria and MS Henrik Ibsen that operate the channel between Skien and Dalen. MS Telemarken operates the Norsjø-Ulefoss-Lunde stretch.
Advance booking is recommended. Booking or on tel. +47 409 20 000.

Paddle, cycle and hike
Popular activities along the canal are both canoeing, cycling and hiking. Along the canal you will also find a rich selection of museums, cultural monuments, cozy eateries and exciting cultural events. 

Driving your own boat up the Telemark Canal
It is an amazing experience to sail on the Telemark Canal in your own boat. Then you'll have to try your hand at the locking systems and get lifted both up and down the chambers. Here there is magnificent scenery, cozy campsites and many activities. The canals eastern run runs via the idyllic Sauar river to Notodden, which is known for industrial history with UNESCO status and the blues festival. The locking facilities are open to leisure boats from about the last week of June to mid-August. 

Canal Boats Telemark – holiday with 100% electric boat
With these boats introduces Canal Boats Telemark a brand new way to holiday by boat. The noisy and foul-smelling diesel engine has been replaced with a quiet electric motor. With Canal Boats Telemark you get the best of two worlds. Treat yourself to high standards, luxury and well-being while taking care of the nature and the sea that surrounds you. Book your boat and experience the Telemark Canal this summer. Charging stations are planned to be strategically located along the entire Telemark Canal. Overview of planned charging points.

History
When the Telemark Canal was completed in 1892, there was a continuous waterway from the coast to the inner part of Telemark. It stretches 105 km from Grenlands beautiful coast, to the Valley in Telemark, at the foot of hardangervidda. 500 men had spent five years blasting their way through the mountain. With 18 locks, it lifts the boats from 0 to 72 m.a.s.l. In European travel manuals the canal was talked about as one of the "eighth wonders of the world" when it was finished.