Over Norwegian mountains- Geilo-Hardangervidda-Eidsfjod-Odda

This is quite the route but it is possible to do it in one day. As usual  we start from Oslo and I suggest you start early specially in the fall because the day is too short to see anything in the evening.  one stop you should make on your way to Geilo as we did is the Torpo stave church. This church is constructed as far as 1160. The church is very small and that is way there is a newer , bigger church built right next to it, leaving this as a tourist attraction. It is only opened in summer but church is pretty impressive all throughout the year. The best part about it for me  is the portal - the carvings are just magnificent. Hard to believe but in fact  this use to be the religious center of the region including the much bigger Ål town. This is only stavechurch that is preserved from middle ages in this region so it is most definitely worth stopping,
Next stop is just above Geilo, the Hallingskarvet mountain. Here is one of the best hiking places I have come across in Norway. There a 2000 steps built to the top of a 1600 m tall mountain where you can choose how you come down from it or whether you want to continue to a bit higher mountain. The rock steps where built by sherpas from Nepal and the hike is actually really easy and doable within 2 hours (round trip). What should be taken into consideration is that the steps can get very icy so you should have the right kind of shoes  to climb this. In a clear sunny day you are able to see Hardangervidda from the top of it.

From here we decided to go further from Geilo to Hardangervidda tourist route. As I have written about it before (check here) I won`t  focus on it here. 

Crossing Hardangervidda we come to Eidsfjord and this is one of the branches of Hardanger. Hardanger is also known as the fruit basket of Norway as most of the fruits are grown here. That is something you will see quite a lot here , people having fruitgardens. Of course that is when you will not be looking around at the breathtaking views. The tall walls of Hardanger , the blue waters of fjord are just gorgeous .  

Continuing on the road 7 we come to town Odda where the Trolltunga is located. If you have a second day to see it , do it but be sure to not do it in winter if you are not experienced enough and do take in consideration that the hike in total may take 8 hours so  if the day is shorter than that I do not recommend it. For full hike click here. 

If you do the one day trip you and the daylight is still there you can check the other Hardanger tourist route and see the waterfalls near Odda on your way to Oslo. If you don't turn back and do a round trip via Drammen you can check out the Heddal stavechurch- the biggest in Norway, which is lid up so it is possible to see it in winter as well.  Also take into consideration, the temperatures in the mountains are much lower and wintertires may be needed in the beginning of October.

The full route you will find here.

Norwegian mountains -Rondane national park

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 .

From there we go to our cabin in Skåbu hyttegrend - a traditional norwegian cabin for a great price and a very nice owner. There we rest for the night.

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 here we travel to Rondane national tourist road. The road goes along side the Rondane mountains and offers wonderful views . The route is equipped with couple of modern viewpoints to enjoy the scenery. You can also visit an old watermill on the road. With a beautiful waterfall.

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.
  

Directions  and the route you can find here