Rondane National Park

Did You Know?

• The bedrock in Rondane originated from a shallow sea floor created 500 to 600 million years ago, and no fossils have been found there.
• The landscape was mostly formed by the last ice age, with rapid ice melting cycles digging deep river valleys and creating small canyons like Jutulhogget and Vesle-Ula.
• Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt (1867) is partly set in Rondane, and the poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje wrote a poem titled Ved Rundarne about the area.

Geography

Rondane is a high mountain area with large plateaus and ten peaks above 2000 m. The highest is Rondeslottet at 2178 m; the lowest point lies just below the tree line at about 1000 to 1100 m. The climate is mild but relatively arid. The soil and rocks are mostly covered by heather and lichen due to a lack of nutrients; above 1500 m only the hardiest lichens grow. The mountains are divided by marked valleys; the deepest valley holds Rondvatnet, a narrow lake between the Storronden–Rondeslottet massif and Smiubelgen. The central massif is cut by flat, dead stone valleys called botns. Precipitation is insufficient for persistent glaciers, but glacier-like snow heaps occur in flat back valleys. At the park's centre lies Rondvatnet, from which all peaks above 2000 m can be reached in less than a day's walk. The central and northern regions are higher than the southern plateaus. Kettle holes and eskers, formed by melting ice-age glaciers, are scattered throughout.

History

After the last ice age, reindeer spread widely across Scandinavia but were later forced back to a smaller area including Rondane. Archaeologists found birch trees at 1030 m that were 8500 years old. On the mountain plateau, evidence shows nomadic hunter-gatherers lived off reindeer; large stone traps for catching reindeer are found at Gravhø and Bløyvangen and elsewhere. Smaller arched stone structures are thought to have concealed archers. The oldest traps may be about 3500 years old. Most discoveries, including residential ruins, date from 500 to 700 AD. The large traps and walls were used from the 6th century until the Black Death in the 14th century. After nearly a decade of planning, Rondane was established as Norway's first national park on 21 December 1962, initially as a nature protection area. The reasons were to safeguard the natural environment, native plants, animal life, cultural heritage, and to secure the area for recreation. The nature protection law was passed in 1954; community meetings were held in 1955, and a commission was founded with Norman Heitkøtter as president. The park originally covered 580 km² and was later nearly doubled. The park was significantly enlarged in 2003 to protect wild reindeer.

Biology

Rondane is among the rare spots in Scandinavia and Europe where wild mountain reindeer still live, not domesticated ones. Norway’s Directorate for Nature Management calls it a vital home for these native reindeer. Between 2000 and 4000 of them are thought to roam Rondane and the neighboring Dovre region. To shield them, hiking paths were relocated by 2004. Roe deer and elk are common near the park’s edges, and muskox from Dovre sometimes appear. Wolverines, northern lynxes, and a few Eurasian brown bears live here, but Eurasian wolves are seldom seen. The reindeer feed on lichen and reindeer moss that grow with heather and hardy grass on dry, rocky plateaus low in nutrients. That lichen enriches the soil, helping weaker plants thrive and supporting mice and lemmings. The Glacier Crowfoot, a flower, survives as high as 1700 meters.

Tourism

Visitors may hike and camp throughout the park except near cabins. The park is motor traffic-free and operates under minimal special regulations. Licensed individuals may fish and hunt. The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT) owns and manages a network of mountain cabins: Rondvassbu at the southern end of Lake Rondvatnet, and Dørålseter and Bjørnhollia at the northern and eastern rims. All three are staffed and provide food and limited accommodation; booking is possible. Unstaffed cabins like Eldåbu require a key. DNT marks trails with red Ts that lead cabin-to-cabin and to some peaks near Rondvatnet. Some trails have been moved to avoid core reindeer areas. Service cabins are open in winter, sometimes self-serviced off season. Ski trails are marked and sometimes prepared by DNT or nearby hotels and ski resorts.