Sunday: Introduction walk & Ringebu Stave Church

We have a short introduction walk before lunch, to get aquainted with the area. Lunch at the hotel and an excursion with mini-bus on back roads, with a nice view to see Ringebu stave church, a beautiful wooden church from beginning of 1200. The stave churches in Norway are the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Lars will show his slides and talk about Venabu and the area. Afterwards you will meet your tour leaders for the week and have further information.

Monday: Canyons and waterfalls
On the plateau where Venabu is situated, it looks rather flat with about 30 smaller and bigger peaks raising. But there are surprises in this landscape. 3 kms from Venabu you will find 3 connecting waterfalls with a height of more than 100 metres, and a little further on you will find a canyon with walls of a height of up to 100 metres!. There are several routes to see these two attractions, so we will find the best ones to lead you through open plateaux as well as down in the canyons.

Tuesday: Summer farm

The summer farm programme is fixed to Tuesday and leads you over small mountains in the southern part of the plateau and through peaceful summer farm areas, with a beautiful view over the mountain ranges and the main valley of Gudbrandsdalen.
Option: Excursion one evening to look for moose - the moose safari. Supplement NOK 250,- per person, sign up the evening before. For this excursion, we go by minibus after dinner and stay in the bus, just having a small coffe-break outside. We drive in the hunting areas for moose, and when we are in the car, they cannot smell us. Sometimes we see them close, sometimes in the distance. They are easiest to see in dusk and dawn, and we recommend that you bring binocculars. These animals look rather clumsy when the stand still - but are extremely elegant when they start moving.

Wednesday: Prehistoric Reindeer Traps or the Olympic town Lillehammer.

The wild reindeer we find in the mountains around Venabu are protected under international law, since they are direct descendants from the ancient tundra reindeer of Europe, not mixed with the tame reindeer you find in other places in the country. These beautiful animals are very shy, and we have a responsibility not to disturb them. But we walk through the Rondane National park and will see traces of the old hunting culture, the homeland for the wild reindeer from old times. Some times we see the reindeer, they are following the same routes as they have done for thousands of years.
The Olympic town Lillehammer
For those who want to rest their legs, we arrange transfer to and from Ringebu station. You may take the train to Lillehammer for shopping and watching the local attractions, like the Olympic museum and the ski jump where they also jump in summer, Maihaugen - the biggest open air museum in Northern Europe with exhibitions of handicraft and Norwegian history, and where you can study the local architecture with the old log houses from Gudbrandsdalen. Lillehammer Art Gallery has a permanent collection of old Norwegian paintings and alternating exhibitions of other art.
An other alternative is to go horseback riding on the hotel's horses. Supplement for train ticket and horse riding.

On Wednesday evening there is a special buffet with traditional food and local produce and we give you an introduction to Norwegian food, among other things the very special "rakefisk"(known from Viking times).
You will also have a chance to taste dishes of moose and reindeer, Norwegian cheeses and lovely desserts. Several hot dishes and a rich choice of cold meat and fish, and of course something for the vegetarians. This meal is excellent to try out the Norwegian aquavit, and otherwise we recommend the fresh water from the hotel's own source.

Thursday: The big challenge—the peak of Høgronden

A spectacular, but steep path leads up the top, 2114 m.a.sl. with a fabulous view over the lake Atnsjøen below and the other high peaks in the Rondane massif. Height difference for Høgronden is approx. 1.400 m. The option for an easier tour starts in the same area and heads for Bjørnhollia, a beautifully located and very popular mountain refuge in the national park surrounded by the high mountains. Terraces and "dead ice" landscape from the ice age form a very special landscape, mostly covered by lichen and some scattered pine trees. The light yellow/green colour of the lichen gives a very special light.

Friday: The wild reindeer walk.

This day is reserved for a walk in a landscape where we have the best chances to see the wild reindeer. The landscape here was formed in a desert climate 50 millions years ago and the walkers roam on the vast plateau covered with lichen and moss and inhabited by wild reindeer, with possibilities to climb small peaks and also take a little swim in a refreshing mountain lake. The end of the tour is a descent to the 18C church at Sollia, and a guided tour around one of the best preserved baroque churches in Norway. This little church is built in a remote valley, and is a very peaceful place to visit.

Saturday: Departure after breakfast