Ramnefjell & Lovatnet, where once the villages of Nesdal and Bødal stood At midnight in mid-winter, January 15-16, 1905, a massive chunk of Ramnefjell - the mountain that towered over the hamlets of Nesdal and Bødal - fell into the lake beneath it, creating a colossal wave, some 130ft high. In Bødal, every farm was destroyed, and 27 villagers died. In Nesdal, all 34 inhabitants died. This is a very remote area, and the only access to Nesdal and Bødal was via a narrow winding path, which was buried by an avalanche the day after the disaster. One can only wonder how many of the few who survived the wall of water perished in the extreme cold before help could reach them. It being mid-winter, many of the local farmers were away at sea fishing, and returned weeks later to find their farms and families and neighbours had vanished. Nesdal and Bødal were rebuilt, with nine farms of Bødal being relocated to higher ground. Almost unbelievably, thirty one years later, at 5am on 13 September 1936, another huge chunk of Ramnefjell collapsed. This time, the tsunami was an almost unimaginable 250ft high - in Bødal, all nine farms that had been rebuilt on higher ground were swept away, along with 43 villagers. Nesdal lost 3 of its 7 farms, and 23 of its villagers. All arable land was washed away, leaving only bare rock and rubble. The villages were, finally, abandoned. Today, the scene is stunningly beautiful, and it is hard to imagine that, deep underneath it, lie buried two entire hamlets, along with their families and livestock.
