Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5 Rondane
™
& Dovrefjell
¡
National Parks
Lesja: 159km (99 miles) N of Lom
Rondane and Dovrefjell national parks present you with a landscape carved by
the Ice Age. Rondane in particular is impressive, with its barren mountains, nar-
row canyons, and deep cirques.
Rondane is home to Norway's last herd of wild reindeer. The parks' land-
scapes are varied, with towering mountain peaks, vast expanses of land, water-
falls, and deep valleys cut between the mountains. You can lodge in Rondane—
we especially recommend the Brekkeseter mountain farm (see “Where to Stay,”
below).
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
Two buses a day (9:45am and 3:15pm) run from the lit-
tle town of Otta, lying on the E6 northwest of Lillehammer, and the settlement
of Mysusaeter (see below), ending at the Spranghaugen Car Park. This is the
start of the most frequented routes through Rondane. The trip takes 45 minutes
and costs 30NOK ($4.25) one-way. There is no public transportation to Dovre-
fjell. Motorists can reach such gateway towns as Lesja or Dombås by taking the
E6 northwest of Lillehammer. For bus information, call
&
62-47-30-42
or visit
www.nor-way.no.
VISITOR INFORMATION
For information about both Rondane and
Dovrefjell, you can go to the
Nasjonalparksenter,
Sentralplassen, in the town
of Dombås (
&
61-24-14-44
). Admission is free, and it is open daily from mid-
June to mid-August from 9am to 8pm, and mid-August to mid-June Monday
to Friday 9am to 4pm. You'll find detailed information about touring either
park at this helpful center.
EXPLORING THE NATIONAL PARKS
The little town of Lesja can be your gateway to
Rondane Nasjonalpark,
which
lies to its southwest. Henrik Ibsen called Rondane “palace piled upon palace.”
Created in 1962, the 572-sq.-km (355-sq.-mile) park was the first to open in
Norway.
The park is divided into a trio of different mountain areas, all more than
2,011m (6,600 ft.) in elevation. To the east of the Rondane massif rise the peaks
of Rondeslotteet at 2,178m (7,145 ft.). To the west are such mountains as
Veslesmeden at 2,016m (6,614 ft.), Storsmeden at 1,017m (6,617 ft.), and
Sagtinden at 2,018m (6,620 ft.). All these mountains are linked by narrow “sad-
dles.” The third group is split by the deep valley of Lungglupdalen and crowned
by Midtronden Mountain at 2,114m (6,935 ft.).
One of Norway's great areas for hikers, Rondane has poor soil, and the
ground is often covered with lichens instead of more luxuriant flora. The park is
peppered with little lakes and rivers, the landscape broken in part by dwarf birch
trees.
The area has been inhabited for thousands of years, as ancient Viking burial
mounds and centuries-old reindeer traps reveal. More than two dozen types of
animals, including reindeer and some 125 species of birds, now populate the
park.
Most visitors to the park begin their hikes at the Spranghaugen Car Park, near
Mysusaeter, which is reached by bus. From this point, the most popular hike in
the park is the 6km (3
3
⁄
4
-mile) jaunt to Rondvassbu, followed by a 5-hour return
climb to the summit of Storronden at 2,138m (7,014 ft.).
