Hardangervidda National Park - Norway

The National Park was established in 1981, and about half of the land is private and the rest is governmental. Hardangervidda is the largest mountain plateau in Europe, and the inner core of Hardangervidda is the largest National Park in Scandinavia (excluding Svalbard). The park is 3422 km2 large, and spans three counties (Hordaland, Buskerud and Telemark) and eight municipalities. The protection regime is National Park (IUCN Category II) and it also includes some Landscape Protected Areas (IUCN Category V), see map. Cultural heritage: Several hundred nomadic Stone Age settlements have been found in the area, most likely related to the migration of the reindeer. Ancient trails cross the plateau, linking western and eastern Norway. Land use: The natural resources on the plateau are of great value to the surrounding villages, and this National Park has allowed a rather high level of land use and associated buildings. The consequence of this type of management is that there is quite a lot of motorized traffic associated with the harvesting of resources and maintenance of buildings, in addition to the operation of tourist cabins. Large flocks of sheep are grazing and browsing every year. There is also regulated fishing and hunting. In addition, Hardangervidda National Park is used as a recreation area and as a source of extra food for urban citizens. •Hardangervidda National Park Centre at Skinnarbu in Tinn - is opening as a visiting centre with a new exhibition in 2013. •Hardangervidda Nature Centre Eidfjord - visitor centre for Norwegian nature, climate and environment. Open April to October. On Skinnarbu you also find the Southern Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre, a centre working with conservation and sustainable management of the wild reindeer and the wild reindeer areas in Norway.