THE ACCOMMODATIONS:
        The Hardanger Plateau National Park Inn traces its origin back more than 250 years in the remote, beautiful landscape of Norway’s interior plateau. Since 1935 the Halland family has operated the mountain hotel with a commitment to traditional Norwegian hospitality and up-to-date lodgings and services. The inn’s 43 rooms are tastefully designed with modern Scandinavian dιcor: bright colors, lots of wood in the architecture and furniture, clean, geometric shapes. All rooms have full bathrooms (with Scandinavian showers.

 

Interior of a traditional Norwegian log cabin on
the Hardanger Plateau. The Hardanger Plateau Inn
maintains a small museum of traditional rooms
from its early days as a mountain hotel.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

Rooms feature furnished balconies with

mountain views. Traditional Scandinavian

 

Hikers take a break at a high, barren point on the
Hardanger Plateau where several marked trails intersect.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

smorgasbord breakfast and full sit-down suppers are included. The large dining hall windows present a grand vista of Norwegian mountain scenery on the edge of the Hardangervidda National Park. The inn’s modern bar and lounge invite social interaction with other guests, and provide quiet relaxation after active days in the National Park. A portion of the hotel is maintained in the traditional style of the original mountain inn, like a living museum providing guests with a glimpse of the region’s past.

THE SETTING:
        The inn is located at the northeastern corner of Norway’s Hardangervidda National Park, at almost 3,000’ above sea level — high for these northern latitudes where tree line is only a few hundred feet above the mountain hotel. The Hardangervidda (vidda = plateau), the nation’s largest national park, is a rocky, mountainous plateau, the rugged wilderness watershed between Norway’s west coast (at Bergen) and its east coast (at Oslo). Once a landscape that saw few visitors, the Hardangervidda

 

The Hardangervidda National Park is a
rugged, high wilderness crisscrossed
by hiking trails and wild rivers..
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

has become an all-year playground for outdoorsy Norwegians.

 

Exploring the Hardanger Plateau region by car,
bike, or on foot means being surrounded by
some of Norway's most stunning scenery.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

LOCATION:
        The northeast corner of the Hardangervidda National Park is approximately halfway across Norway on a line between Oslo and Bergen. About 15 miles north of the inn is Geilo, the nearest town is Geilo, a regional center at the intersection of two valleys, two major roads, and the Oslo-Bergen railway. Guests who do not wish to drive in Norway can arrive in the region by train and be picked up at the Geilo station by the hotel's mini-bus.
         Those coming by car — approximately 3.5 hours west-northwest of Oslo, and 

about four hours east of Bergen — drive

ACTIVITIES:
      In the summer guests come to the Hardangervidda National Park to hike, climb, fish, cycle, and raft. In the winter they come to ski—cross-country on many miles of trails, and downhill on several nearby ski mountains. Guests to the region find its raw beauty very impressive, and quite a contrast to Norway’s better known coastal and fjord landscapes. In summer, active guests can take guided hikes, go white-water rafting, fishing, or skiing. Less active guests can explore the region by car or by private mini-bus with an English-speaking guide. Full day and half-day excursions show off the geological majesty of the park and beyond—spectacular waterfalls, rushing wild rivers, dramatic sheer cliffs, and high, rocky mountains capped with glaciers. There are even guided after-dark excursions to spot moose. The Hardangervidda has a large number of moose, fox, and the largest wild reindeer population in Europe.

 

Guided day hikes at all degrees
of difficulty may be organized AT
Home at First's Hardangervidda
National Park Inn.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

 

The Hardangervidda National Park Inn
has been family run for generations.
Expect a warm, traditional Norwegian
welcome when you arrive (but
not the traditional dress).
 

THE WELCOME: The host family owners and managers at the Hardanger Plateau National Park Inn are proud of their region and eager to show its beauty and traditions to visitors. They will pick-up and return guests arriving at Geilo by train. They are happy to arrange guided tours and activities for guests. The owners have traveled frequently to North America, speak English fluently, and are avid collectors of antique American cars and trucks.

THE OFFER: You can include a visit at the Hardangervidda Plateau National Park Inn as part of a custom-designed Scandinavian trip built just for you. Design your own travel itinerary or use Home At First’s "Best of Norway" design as a basis for the Scandinavian trip of your dreams.

NOTE: Our cooperating inn at Norway's Hardangervidda National Park is one of many small, quality lodgings through Norway, Sweden, and Denmark that participate in Home At First’s Scandinavian travel program. With Home At First’s help, guests choose from among many locations to design a very personal Scandinavian travel experience.
 
AVAILABILITY: For current availability information, call Home At First at (800) 523-5842, or contact us by e-mail at: info@homeatfirst.com

 

DISCOVER THE TRADITIONS OF THE HARDANGER
IN A FAITHFULLY RESTORED SECTION OF THE INN.
 

more about travel with Home At First to: THE HARDANGER PLATEAU, NORWAY & SCANDINAVIA.

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