Norway Guide
Southeast Norway
Preoccupied by the fjords and the long road to the Nordkapp, few tourists are tempted to explore southeast Norway. The Norwegians know better. Trapped between Sweden and the fjords, this great chunk of land boasts some of the country's finest scenery, with forested dales trailing north and west from Oslo towards the rearing peaks of the interior. It's here, within shouting distance of the country's principal train line and the E6 – the main line of communication between Oslo, Trondheim and the north – that you'll find three of Norway's prime hiking areas. These are made up of a trio of mountain ranges, each partly contained within a national park – from south to north, Jotunheimen, Rondane and the Dovrefjell. Each park is equipped with well-maintained walking trails and DNT huts; Otta and Kongsvoll, on both the E6 and the train line, are particularly good starting points for hiking expeditions.
Entirely different, but just as popular with the Norwegians, is the south coast, an appealing region whose myriad islets and skerries, beaches and coves punctuate the shoreline that extends west from the Oslofjord. This coast is at its prettiest in the east where a handful of old timber ports – Arendal, Lillesand and Mandal – sport bright-white, antique clapboard houses along their harbourfronts. Kristiansand, easily the largest town on the coast, is different again, a brisk, modern place that successfully combines its roles as a resort and as a major ferry port with connections to Denmark. Beyond Mandal, an especially fetching holiday spot with a great beach, the coast becomes harsher and less absorbing, heralding a sparsely inhabited region with precious little to detain you before Stavanger, a lively oil town and port within easy striking distance of some fine fjord and mountain scenery.