riegelus' VirtualTourist Home Page

Lillehammer is a small town situated in the eastern central Norway - about 180 kms north of the capital, Oslo. Only about 20.000 people live here, still it has become reknown throughout the world because of its host role during the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

Lillehammer has been my hometown since 1988, and there are several reasons for this.
This small town is offering more cultural events throughout the year than any other small town in Norway - ranging from blues- and jazzfestivals, The Winter Games festival, a broad variety of concerts in different fields to the biggest literature festival in Scandinavia, "The Sigrid Undset Days".
Furthermore, this small wooden town has several small galleries of art, plus the Art Museum - containing both contemporary world art as well as classical pieces of The Norwegian National Art Gallery.

Fifteen minutes walk from the town center you will find Maihaugen, the biggest outdoor museum in Northern Europe - exposing architecture and every day rural life from the central valleys over the last 300 years. The Museum contains 185 wooden buildings, more than 50.000 registered museum items and articrafts, old workshops and production facilities, changing exhibitions, one of the best concerto halls in Norway - and the permanent exhibition: "Slowly this country became our own" - showing a historic review of our national history.

Foreigners are often astonished about the relatively high number of pubs, bars, cafes and night clubs in this tiny town. But then Lillehammer also is a tourist magnet - for summer- as well as winter tourists. Also the town has become very popular for arranging larger congresses and seminars. And here also are situated some major educational institutions, among them the Norwegian Film School, the Norwegian Humanistic Academy, - and not at least the largest college in Norway (HIL). In position to become the first inland university in Norway, they already offer both bachelor and master degrees - as well as three years education for various social professions.

Lillehammer has one of the longest and nicest pedestrian streets in Norway - surrounded by pleasant and specially protected wooden buildings. Strolling along this street - particularly in the summertime - you will feel being in a rather international environment, people from all corners of the world meet here. And along this atmospheric street lie the outdoor cafes as pearls on a chain in the summer season.

Still, for many foreigners Lillehammer first and foremost serve as the gateway to the magnificent Norwegian mountains. About three hour´s drive from Lillehammer you may be in the heart of Jotunheimen - the wildest, tallest and most arctic mountain area of Norway. Here the peaks are raging up to about 2500 meters, in a landscape containing a surprisingly rich mountain flora in the midst of black and robust granite, green mountain lakes, glaciers and eternal snow. If you´d like to experience the true magic and solitude in this surroundings, you should bring a tent and a storm kitchen!

More to the north of Lillehammer, on the other side of the central valley, you find Rondane, providing peaks at almost same altitude as Jotunheimen, but with a different character. Here are no glaciers, and then also much less water in general, somthing which makes Rondane a bit more simple for trekking in low shoes. Nevertheless, Rondane has its own charm, and specially in september - with its glowing red and orange autumn colours, a weekend here is a must for myself.

Conclusion is: If you love the smell and sight of old wooden architecture, combined with stunning views, mountain experiences and you are longing for this particular sense of freedom
which only the intimate contact with the forces of untouched nature can give, then check your bank account, pack your backpack - and map out Lillehammer in your travel schedule!

In the central Norway, about 120 kms in straight air direction north-west of Lillehammer, you will be in the core of the wildest and most arctic mountain area in Europe, Jotunheimen (Home of the Jotuns. Jotuns are figures from the old Nordic mythology). This vast area, with a whole lot of peaks stretching more than 2000 meters above sea level – in a landscape covered by glaciers and eternal snow as well as birch covered valleys, green lakes and roaring rivers and waterfalls – is today a national park.

The national park, however, includes only the central Jotunheimen – with the tallest, wildest and least accessible peaks of the total area. All the three tallest mountain peaks in Norway is situated here, Galdhøpiggen with 2469 m, Glittertind with 2452 m, and Great Skagastølstind with 2403 m. But both east and west of the park this mountainous area is streching out further. Towards east the landscape becomes more mild and plainlike, though also here the more round peaks stretch up to about 1800 meters. To the west the wild and deserted character continues, and this area also is called Breheimen (Home of the Glaciers).

The western border of this wilderness is constituted by Jostedalsbreen (The Jostedal Glacier) – the largest glacier on the European mainland. This glacier is about 90 kms long – and its distance from Galdhøpiggen in central Jotunheimen is about 80 kms. You may also trek along the more than 1800 meter tall top plateau of Jostedalsbreen, but in this case you should be part of a group, led by an experienced glacier guide. If you choose to do so, you will have an experience for life – especially if you also include ice climbing on one of the glacier tounges which stretch down to the green and flourishing valleys below.

Throughout Jotunheimen there is a large number of served as well as unserved cabins which are welcoming mountain trekkers as well as car tourists. Alle these cabins are linked together through a network of marked trek routes, the labor to maintain this complex system of paths, tracks, vardes and marks, is performed by volunteers attached to The Norwegian Tourist Association (DNT). On the served cabins you may have a full pension as a stationary tourist, or you may walk from one cabin to the other, to be secured a hot supper when you reach the destination of the day. In central Jotunheimen alone you may choose between 14 served or unserved cabins – on the unserved ones you might also make a hot meal as there is a permanent storage of gas, wood and provisions of hermetic or other durable food.

The access to Jotunheimen may be done from various directions. If your point of departure is Oslo, the shortest road goes through the valley of Valdres, over Valdresflya to the lakes Bygdin or Gjende. Here you may drive directly to the served cabins of Bygdin or Gjendesheim. For further trekking into the deep Jotunheimen, I recommend the latter – situated in the eastern end of Lake Gjende, probably the most beautiful mountain lake of some size in Norway. Also if you come from north, Gjendesheim is a proper point of departure for trekking tours in Jotunheimen.

Another option is Spiterstulen – a private mountain hotel in Visdalen. Here you really are into the deep mountains, as this valley is cutting itself into the massive mountains between the two tallest peaks in Norway, Galdhøpiggen and Glittertind. To enter Visdalen you drive in from Lom in the Otta valley – which again is a side valley to Gudbrandsdalen, the main route between Oslo and Trondheim. From Lom you may also enter Juvasshytta, the number two tallest situated mountain cabin in Norway, at more than 1700 meters altitude. From here there are daily trips led by a mountain guide over the glacier to Galdhøpiggen. If the weather is nice, you will have the most breathtaking view from the top. And what is more, on the very top of this peak there is a modern stone cabin – selling refreshments!

Rondane is situated about 100 kms north-east of Jotunheimen mountains - and on the eastern side of Gudbrandsdalen. There are several gateways leading into this rather barren but stunning mountain scenary, but most commonly used is the one starting at Otta, 110 kms north of Lillehammer. From here you drive a serpentine road taking you up, up and up, until you see the first peaks of Rondane stretching up above the pine forests. Further up you pass through the old mountain farm village of Mysuseter - situated on the border of pine forest vegetation, and soon after here you enter the Rondane plateau.

Truly it is an impressive view that meets the eye here. The plateau itself lies upon 1000 - 1200 m altitude, and is covered with heather and moss, which makes incredible bright and glowing colours during the fall - mainly in midst september. A few kilometers onto the plateau the Rondane national park starts, and here is a large parking area for cars, called Spranget. The view from this vast mountain plateau is magnificent, in front of you the barren mountains rise up with a row of peaks, of whom Rondeslottet (Castle of Rondane) is the king, stretching up to 2176 m.

This mountain massive is divided into two main parts by a narrow lake, Lake Ronde (Rondevatnet, 1136 m), with a continuing rift to north, ending in a very special landscape which consists of piles of gravel and small ponds - the result of the violent forces in action when the ice withdrew from the Norwegian mainland (about 10.000 years ago). East of the lake lies the tallest peaks in Rondane; Rondeslottet rises 1000 meters straight above the lake, and the neighbour Storronden rises to 2136 meters above sea level.

On the western side of the lake you find the area called Smiubelgen, which includes a number of peaks rising above 2000 meters. All these peaks you may enter from Rondvassbu, a mountain cabin situated in the southern end of Lake Ronde. This served cabin offers 140 beds in the tourist seasons (june-september and mars-april), and 12 beds when it is unserved.

Recommended daytrips:
From Rondvassbu to Rondeslottet (2178 m) - forth and back, taking about 5 hours plus resttime.
From Rondvassbu to Storronden - forth and back, taking about 4 hours plus resttime. Both these trips demand that you are able to handle differences in altitude levels equal to 1000 meters - the trip to Slottet is probably the most craving one in all Rondane.
From Rondvassbu to Veslesmeden (2014 m) - further on via Storsmeden (2016 m) to Steet (1996 m) and down through Kaldebotn back to Rondvassbu. This craves a bit easy climbing up to Storsmeden - but on the top you will be awarded with the most magnificent view in Rondane!