This october we did a two day trip to Rondane national park. As we live in Oslo , we started on saturday from Oslo and took the E6 road and through Lillehammer went 300 km upwards to Otta town. From here we drove to Rondavatnet which is the heart of Rondane national park. We wanted to hike one of the easiest 2000 m mountains in Norway - Veslesmeden. The road to Rondavatnet was blocked approximately 6 km before Rondavatnet . So we had to park our car and walk up to there. After that we walk those 6 km there was still 6 km hike to the top waiting for us. But the day is nice , the sky is so clear that you can actually see Jotunheim from here -the largest mountain Plato in Norway.
Rondane is Norway's oldest National park dating back from 1960ties . The name comes from Rondavatnet - the lake in the middle of these mountains. There are several tops to choose from for hiking over 2000 m . Even if you do not want to hike , you may still ho see the mountains , enjoy a nice walk and the stunning scenery and maybe even see wild reindeer.
We choose to do the hike. As expected, it was very time consuming and tiring but the view on the top is fantastic -you can see the whole Rondane. Technically the hike isnt that demanding as the path doesn't get that steep that you have to use hands but be sure to get some hiking boots before that and be very careful with the rocks on the top as there are some loose stones where you may het hurt. I used running shoes and slipped on a rock spraining one ankle and jamming the stone into the other .
The golden rule is that you get down from the mountain before 6 o'clock which we manage but beraly and the walk back to parking is done completely in dark. The whole hike was about 26 km .
Next morning we travel further north to Snøhetta utsiktspunkt in Dovre. This is a little viewpoint located in Hjerkinn. Here you have to walk upwards the path 1 km . On your way there is some information given about reindeers in Norway as this lookout is supposed to be a place to safely watch reindeer. The lookout is made by world-renowned Snøhetta desigh company - the same people to design Oslo opera house and Barcode buildings in Oslo. They got their name from Dovre Plato mountain Snøhetta. The view is fantastic and the lookout is very modern -all and all a great place to visit.
From her we travel through mountains to see the wooden Ringebo Stavechurch. Parts of this church date back to 13th century and it is surrounded by a cemetery . Finding it may be a bit tricky if you come from Rondane, because it is not located in the center of Ringebo but a bit further on the way to Lillehammer.
From here we leave to see Lillehammer ,particularly the Olympic center. This is the town that people remember for different things- to some it is the place where Winter Olympics '94 took place, for me it is more about the Norwegian show Lillehammer - great comedy show.
The town it self is not too big and located on the coast of the biggest Norwegian lake - Mjøsa.
Surrounded by mountains this was a great place to host the Olympics and there was a ski-jump trampoline built for this which rises right above the town, so some great views a guaranteed here.
Due to the lack of daylight and general tiredness we travel back to Oslo.
What you need to know taking this route is that the E6 is a great road from Oslo but the first few kilometers there will be quite a lot of toll stations and may round up to 300 nok fro a roundtrip. Rondane is not a road that closes in winter so this route is possible during the winter as well but keep in mind that for a beginner the mountains can be too dangerous to climb so do not risk it if you are not experienced in this.
The town it self is not too big and located on the coast of the biggest Norwegian lake - Mjøsa.
Surrounded by mountains this was a great place to host the Olympics and there was a ski-jump trampoline built for this which rises right above the town, so some great views a guaranteed here.
Due to the lack of daylight and general tiredness we travel back to Oslo.
What you need to know taking this route is that the E6 is a great road from Oslo but the first few kilometers there will be quite a lot of toll stations and may round up to 300 nok fro a roundtrip. Rondane is not a road that closes in winter so this route is possible during the winter as well but keep in mind that for a beginner the mountains can be too dangerous to climb so do not risk it if you are not experienced in this.
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