Motorhoming in Norway | Driving across the stunning Jotunheimen National Tourist route
It seems almost impossible to take a motorhoming road trip without stumbling upon yet another wonderfully scenic journey in Norway…. Although ‘stumbling’ might not quite describe it accurately… As the wonderful National Tourist Route website conjured up some exciting images that meant we simply couldn’t miss the raw, rugged nature across the Jotunheimen on the Valdresflye route.
The Valdresflye reminded us at times of the wonderful scenery seen on the Rondane route through to our ranch style horse-riding adventures in Kvistli, we have become accustomed to scenery that makes you ‘jam’ on the brakes for yet another ‘must see/take’ photo opportunity… Established in 1962 as Norway’s first national park, the ice age has carved out the Rondane route which follows sweeping mountains from the Rondane massif and includes the famous lookout point at Sohlbergplassen, where the painter Harald Sohlberg created the “Winter Night in the Mountains”. We hope to see it when we visit Oslo this weekend as it hangs in the National Gallery in Oslo.
The Valdresflye has some wonderful sweeping bends too that create a great feeling of ‘soaring’ over the landscape which lays beneath you in it’s rugged beauty… partially covered in places by snow that lay in huge clumps (sometimes over 10ft tall still… in summer!) We discussed with the girls just how bleak a landscape this must become in winter, yet there must also be a true natural beauty to this too. It’s equally an impressive feat go engineering that wasn’t lost on us either. Rjupa and Vargbakkene are well worth a stop and the almost surreal sight of a beautiful wooden boat in a dry dock in the middle of the mountains…
The plateaus on the Valdreflye amazed our girls with both their size and remoteness… just how do people live in such remote locations that can be covered by feet of snow for months at a time….
This reminded the girls of their trip over the Hardangervidda and its equally remote snow covered landscape at Skiftesjøen.
This reminded the girls of their trip over the Hardangervidda and its equally remote snow covered landscape at Skiftesjøen.
Every roadtrip should have Something special
These glacial landscapes are simply outstanding places of nature’s engineering on a scale that is almost unimaginable… Add in their wildlife and the wild reindeer herds and you have a wonderful place to take a road trip – especially from the comfort of a motorhome.
But perhaps the best of the roads travelled so far has been the scenic routes both into and out of Geirangerfjord (see top video). This tourist road has almost everything a driving enthusiast could need – steep hairpin bends, scenic 360° views, snow to lush green valleys… a real pleasure to drive!!
jotunheimen
so where did we park the bus for the night?
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