Overview
- cabins with breathtaking views of this outstandingly beautiful area
- great walking and cycling, route notes provided
- fantastic programme of organised activities
- 7 days' car hire included
- ideal for families
With National Parks to the north-east and west, the deeply traditional Gudbrandsdalen Valley lies amid some of the most magnificent mountain scenery that Norway has to offer.There's something about Norway that makes you want to embrace an extreme programme of healthy living. And our holiday duly promised a dawn-till-dusk activity programme of walking, fishing, cycling and even a moose safari.
Clover Stroud, The Observer
So lyrically described by Henrik Ibsen in his epic poem about his legendary hero, Peer Gynt, these mountains are home to the high-quality Highland Cabins, which occupy an elevated spot with breathtaking views across a lake towards the Jotunheimen Mountains. With great walking and mountain-biking nearby, as well as numerous other activities – some of them quite unusual – organised by the local centre, the cabins make the ideal base for a holiday enjoying the great outdoors, and are perfect for families.
exploring the area
This is an area of outstanding natural beauty and there is a good network of walking paths that lead from the village. Spend a week or two here and you can choose from short circuits around the village itself to longer hikes into the surrounding fells. The routes for which we provide notes are as follows:
• Svintjern Lake (6km, easy): skirt the shores of this attractive lake before heading to the nearby watch tower for magnificent views of the Jotunheimen and Rondane Mountains.
• Jetningen Lake (8km, easy): pleasant trails lead through woodland of birch.
• Valsfjell (8km, moderate): you ascend steadily uphill, above the tree line, onto the open moorland of Valsfjell, from where you are rewarded with views of the mountains. The return route takes you via a farm museum.
• Around Gålå (3km, easy): this is a gentle nature trail suitable for all the family.
Although we provide full walking and cycling notes (our four cycling routes range from 12 to 30 kilometres in length), the local Summer Arena offers a fantastic programme of organised activities that you can join, such as pony-trekking, canoeing across lakes, white-water rafting on the River Sjoa, mountain-biking, and fishing in the lake or one of the many cascading streams. You can even join an elk safari, or head to the Rondane National Park, which shelters the last wild reindeer herd in Norway, as well as stoats, hares, wolverines, red foxes, arctic foxes and lemmings. To get an idea of Norway in the winter, you can join an excursion to the Smørstabreen Glacier, in the Jotunheimen National Park, which includes a one-hour crossing of the glacier. Some of the excursions available include use of the local chairlift, so you can enjoy views from the higher mountains without even exerting yourselves too much; alternatively, why not take your bike up for an exhilarating ride back down again?
Nearer to ‘home’, guests at the cabins are entitled to use the nearby hotel’s tennis courts and heated outdoor swimming pool.
Accommodation
These traditional cabins are dotted within the pine forest on the hillside overlooking the lake at Gålå. The village itself has two hotels and a small supermarket selling some local specialities, including elk sausages.
Highland Cabins, Sleeps 2-8Meal arrangements: self-catering
The cabins vary in size, accommodating up to either six or eight people. Guests praise the traditional décor (incorporating lots of red, green and blue) and the attractive light-wood furnishings, as well as the exceptional attention to detail – this even extends to the crockery! The smaller, semi-detached cabins have two bedrooms )one twin and one with bunks), a lounge-cum-dining-room and a shower room, with the option of adding two beds in the loft. The larger 4-bedroom cabins can sleep up to 8 comfortably, and have a central living area with two bedrooms (one of which has bunk-beds), shower room and separate WC on each side. Facilities in both types of cabin include satellite television, wood-burning stove, heated drying cupboard and a kitchen corner equipped with a fridge, freezer, cooker and dishwasher. The larger cabins even have their own sauna. Some of the cabins overlook the lake, with views of the Jotunheimen Mountains beyond, and many are roofed in the traditional way - with turf, an excellent form of insulation from both the cold of winter and the heat of summer.
Prices & Travel
| Prices (£ per person based on 2 sharing) |
2-bedroom mezzanine cabin
|
4-bedroom cabin
|
|
7 nights: 29 May-18 September 2010
|
Property & hire car |
Property & hire car |
|
29 May-18 Jun & 14 Aug-18 Sep
|
525
|
578
|
|
19 Jun-23 Jul
|
638
|
735
|
|
24 Jul-13 Aug
|
650
|
760
|
|
Additional person
|
24
|
24
|
| Heating costs not included |
|
|
Property & hire car includes: 7 days' category B car hire (e.g. VW Polo)
Recommended airport: Oslo Gardermoen
Driving time from airport: 3h30
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