Gautefall (also known as Gautefallheia) is a mountain

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

(Norwegian: ''fjellgrend'') in

Drangedal municipality Drangedal is a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestestranda. The municipality of Drangedal was established ...

in Telemark County,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is situated in-between Bostrak in Drangedal and

Treungen Treungen is a village in, and the administrative centre of Nissedal municipality, Telemark county in Norway. Located just east of the village Tveitsund, it is a part of the urban area of the same name, which has a population of 361 as of 1 Janua ...

Nissedal Nissedal is a rural municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Treungen. The ...

. It is home to a ski center, tourist resort and consists mostly of vacation homes and cabins. It is located in a mountainous area and is a major winter sports destination. It is a popular destination for skiing, hiking, fishing, hunting, swimming, and other recreational activities. Gautefall Ski Resort is one of the largest

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

centers in

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

. It is home to 15 slopes, 1 chairlift, 5 surface lifts, and a roll band. It has a total capacity of 7000 people per hour. The terrain park also offers small jumps, big jumps, and various rails. The children park has conveyor belts and a ski school. The ski center connects to 100 km (62 mi.) of

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

trails. It is popular for winter sports such as

Telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is na ...

, alpine skiing, snowboarding,

slalom skiing Slalom is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline, involving skiing between poles or gates. These are spaced more closely than those in giant slalom, super-G, super giant slalom and Downhill (ski competition), downhill, necessitating ...

, cross-country skiing, as well as hiking. Gautefall Tourist Hotel, which lies adjacent to the ski resort, has fifty hotel rooms, an

à la carte In restaurants, ''à la carte'' (; )) is the practice of ordering individual dishes from a menu in a restaurant, as opposed to ''table d'hôte'', where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century loan from French meaning "according t ...

restaurant, bar, saunas, a swimming pool, and twelve rental apartments. As of late 2017, Gautefall was home to between 1400-1500 vacation homes.

Etymology

The name "Gautefall" derives from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

and translates to “the river which flows over.” It may have referred to a local waterfall, the 20-meter high Kjerringfossen by Bjorvatnet.

History

Near the lake Fiskevatnet traces are visible from ancient civilization dating back to the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

or perhaps as early as

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

times, 4000–6000 years ago. Ancient

grave mounds A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

can be seen in-between the lakes Fiskevatnet and Skålbuvatnet. A large 18,500 decare farm property here was purchased by a widow in 1393. The large property was later purchased by Nils Sørensen Adeler of

Kragerø Kragerø () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. ...

in the late 1600s. The oldest still-standing house by Fiskevatnet is the

seter Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...

''Seterstua'' which dates to the 1760s. The last year of

shieling A shieling is a hut or collection of huts on a seasonal pasture high in the hills, once common in wild or sparsely populated places in Scotland. Usually rectangular with a doorway on the south side and few or no windows, they were often cons ...

at Fiskevatnet was the summer of 1973, and the first vacation home was constructed here in 1957. A

solar symbol A solar symbol is a symbol representing the Sun. Common solar symbols include circles (with or without rays), crosses, and spirals. In religious iconography, personifications of the Sun or solar attributes are often indicated by means of a halo ...

dating to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

can be seen by Stolsvasslonene. This archeological monument dates to 1800 BCE-500 BCE and consists of a sun wheel which is roughly in diameter. At nearby Stolsvassøygard is where a twelve-year-old girl, Hæge Kyrkjebø, was killed by a

Brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

in July 1832. The first cabin to be constructed at Gautefallheia was Reinsvasshytta, which was erected by Amboritius Olsen Lindvig by the year 1900 near Reinsvatn Lake. The cabin, which was constructed in the late 1890s, was inherited by Lindvig’s son, Johannes Lindvig, who demolished the cabin and erected a new one in 1916. This cabin was later sold to the Hopstock family of

in 1931. In 1934-36, the

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

at Nonsåsheivarden (Blekavarden) was constructed by the Slokvik brothers. Gautefalldammen, the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

above Kjerringfossen waterfall by Bjorvatnet Lake, was used as a floating dam for

log driving Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. Histor ...

, which took place here until May 1971. Nearby Kåsa (Hauktjennlikåsa) was cleared already in 1836 and was populated until 1923. It functioned as a

for several years after. The road here was completed in 1973. A

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

owned by Halvor Haugland was in operation by the lake Bjorvatnet from 1947-1950. Gautefalldammen was in use until 1971. It consisted of a 9.25 meter wide and 4-meter tall

sluice gate Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

along with nine hatches. The mill was removed in the early 1950s. Until 1963, Gautefall was the highest farm located on a dead-end road on top of the mountain. Some tourists, particularly from

, began visiting the area due to its unique nature in the early 1900s. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gautefall also began drawing visitors for skiing from nearby

Drangedal Drangedal is a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestestranda. The municipality of Drangedal was established ...

. When the construction of the road westwards was completed in 1964, the construction of vacation homes and cabins grew. The 1970s saw the establishment of Gautefall Tourist Hotel in 1973 and its nearby alpine center in 1976. The 11 decare (2.7 acre) Gautefall Nature Preserve (Gautefall naturreservat) was established on April 28, 1978, in order to protect the

temperate deciduous forest Temperate deciduous or temperate broad-leaf forests are a variety of temperate forest 'dominated' by trees that lose their leaves each year. They are found in areas with warm moist summers and cool winters. The six major areas of this forest type ...

. The mountain church, Gautefall fjellkyrkje, was constructed in 1997. The church was expanded and re-consecrated on June 20, 2010. In 2003, the artificial pond Nedre Langmyrtjenn was constructed adjacent to the church in order to provide water for the alpine center’s snow canons. In 2005, significant expansions took place at the alpine center. In 2007, the

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except n ...

trail at Hegneknuten mountain was established. In 2009, the 20-kilometer Heigeitilløpya trail between Gautefall and

opened. 2009 also saw the establishment of Gautefall

Biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not tim ...

, adjacent to Gautefall Ski Lodge.

Geography

Gautefall is a hamlet located in rural

Tørdal Tørdal is a district in Drangedal municipality, in the county Vestfold og Telemark, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and nor ...

in the western portion of

municipality in

, Norway. It is transversed by county road 358, locally known as Gautefallveien. It is located between 500–700 meters (1640–2300 ft.) above sea-level. It is mostly made up of heather

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

, mountains, forests, and lakes. Rivers include Svarthøl, Hegnebekken, Fantemobekken, Lauvdalsbekken, Gautefallelva, and others. Lakes include Nedre Langmyrtjenn, Langmyrtjenna, Blektjenna, Nedrekvitbergtjenna, Skattjenn, Bjorvatn, and others. Nature preserves include Gautefall Nature Preserve and Hellheia Nature Preserve. Notable waterfalls include Kjerringfossen, Brudgomfossen, and Høgfoss. Kjerringfossen has a 20-meter (66 ft.) drop and can be reached by following the old road towards Bostrak (Gamlevegen) from Ski Lodge Gautefall. A trail follows the river Fjellgårdselva to the waterfall by Bjorvatnet Lake. This road, which leads to Gautefallgårdene and Gautefall Nature Preserve, traverses Fantemoen and Eikestøa before reaching Bjorvatnet Lake where Kjerringfossen is located. The dam on top of the waterfall, Gautefalldammen, is one of the largest at Gautefallheia. From the bridge are traces visible from the

that took place here until 1971. The dam had nine hatches and a 9.25-meter (30.3 ft.) wide

. Gautefall Nature Preserve is reached by following the old road to the county road (Fylkesvei 358) from the waterfall. The waterfall is also accessible by car and located roughly one kilometer northeast of Ski Lodge Gautefall. It is reached by following Fiskvannsveien towards Gautefall Panorama from the county road. Kjerringfossen is part of Gautefallelva (Gautefall River). Blekavarden_nonsåsheivarden

Rytterspranget is located immediately east of the top of the ski slopes at Gautefall Alpine Center. There is a road leading to the top of Rytterspranget where there is a cafe called Rytterspranget Kafé. A neighborhood of vacation homes and cabins have been constructed near the cafe. The cafe’s wooden terrace offers panoramic views overlooking most of Gautefallheia. It offers views of Gautefall Tourist Hotel (built in 1973), the ski center (1976 and 2005), the church Gautefall fjellkyrkje (1997) as well as mountains such as Kvitbergheia and Jørundskarheia and lakes including Bjorvatnet and Fiskevatnet.

Bleka

Immediately south of the county road (Gautefallvegen) and the ski center is the hilltop and hillside area Bleka. The northern part of Bleka is known as Nonsåsheia, and centrally located at Nonsåsheia is a landmark

known as Nonsåsheiavarden (Blekavarden). This is located at 678 meters above sea level. A neighborhood of cabins has been constructed in the northwestern parts of Bleka. Bleka can be reached by parking at Rytterspranget or Søliane Hyttefelt. A number of hiking trails are found at Bleka and there is a number of overlook points found in the area. From Blekavarden there are views as far as to the ocean outside

and

Risør is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located on the Skagerrak coast in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of Risør municipality is the town of Risør. There are many villages in Risør such as Akland, ...

in the south, the mountain Lifjell in the north, and the Vealøs Tower (Vealøstårnet) in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

in the east. Hills by

Fyresdal Fyresdal is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. The municipality of ''Moland' ...

can be seen to the west. A number of lakes can be found at Bleka, including Store Daltjenn, Lille Daltjenn, Blekatjenn, Grunntjenn, and Skvetten.

Nature preserves

Gautefall Nature Preserve was established in 1978 with the purpose of protecting the low-herb oak forest. The reserve is located by county road 358 (Gautefallvegen), south of the Gautefall farm. The reserve is located 310 meters above the ocean. It is home to a variety of very large oak trees as well as species such as

Common hazel ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It is an important component of the hedgerows that were the traditional field boundaries in lowland En ...

Rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

, and

Small-leaved Lime ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...

. A variety of avifauna can be found in the preserve's oak tree groves, including

Song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, ...

European Blackbird The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not ...

Common chaffinch The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in ...

, and

European robin The European robin (''Erithacus rubecula''), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in Great Britain & Ireland, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family. About in len ...

. Hellehei (Hellheia) Nature Preserve was established in 1978 in order to preserve one of Norway’s highest located oak tree forests. It is situated between 450 and 600 meters above sea-level on a steep hillside pointing southwest. The preserve is home to a particularly large oak tree but is also home to

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

Maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

, and

trees. It is located near Hellehei Hyttefelt, which is a neighborhood of cabins, in steep terrain roughly 400 meters north of county road 358. Two additional nature preserves, Flottane and Nybutjern, are two

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

located in Søvassmarka. These were designated nature preserves on April 22, 1983, and attracts wildlife such as moose, deer, and

Black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

. Flottane Nature Preserve is the largest of the two at 1.51 sq. km, while Nybutjern Nature Preserve is 0.32 sq. km. Both received protection due to their rich variety of vegetation and hydrotopography. They are of big importance for local avifauna and consists of

bogland A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

dominated by species such as

Bog asphodel ''Narthecium ossifragum'', commonly known as bog asphodel, Lancashire asphodel or bastard asphodel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Nartheciaceae. It is native to Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about in ele ...

and

Cross-leaved Heath ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe ...

. They are also home to species such as

Orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, Common milkworts, and Narrow-leaved marsh orchids. Nybutjern, which is situated north of Flottane, is largely made up of

string bog A string bog or string mire is a bog consisting of slightly elevated ridges and islands, with woody plants, alternating with flat, wet sedge mat areas. String bogs occur on slightly sloping surfaces, with the ridges at right angles to the directio ...

Culture

Gautefall Fjellkyrkje ("Gautefall mountain church") was established in 1997. It is centrally located near the ski center and is visible from the county road Gautefallvegen. It was established under Bamble prosti in 1997 but was expanded and completed in 2010, and consecrated on June 20, 2010, by bishop Olav Skjævesland. It is also used overnight as a camp for youth getting

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

and other youth groups. It has two additional cabins at its disposal - Olavsbu and Stulsbu. Together they have accommodation for up to fifty people. The

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...

Festival was previously annually held at Gautefall for over fifteen consecutive years. The festival drew entertainers such as Sven O. Høiby, Cowboy-Laila, and Knut Storbukås. Sputnik, a Norwegian country music singer from neighboring Bostrak, began his career at the hotel in Gautefall. The Sputnik Museum is located in adjacent Bostrak.

Alpine center

The alpine center at Gautefall lies across county road 358 from Gautefall Tourist Hotel (Gautefall Ski Lodge). It is located midway between Bostrak and

and is visited by thousands every winter including both domestic and international visitors. It opened in 1976 but was expanded in 2005. It is one of the largest in

with fifteen runs, one roll band, and seven chairlifts and surface lifts with a capacity of 7000 people per hour. It has 60 snow canons and is also home to a children’s section with conveyor belts and a ski school with instructors speaking English, Swedish, Danish, among other languages. The center also offers ski rentals (alpine, cross country, and Telemark), instruction, as well as snowblade and snowboard rentals. It has sixteen slopes for

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

and snowboarding as well as 100 km of marked and lighted

cross-country skiing trail A cross-country skiing trail or ''loipe''From german: Loipe or ''Langlaufloipe'', pl. –''n'', ''loipe'' is a loanword in English-language travel guides, referring to cross-country ski trails in Europe. It is a Germanization of the Norwegian word, ...

s. The longest slope is 1,200 meters (1.2 km) and there is a total of 13.4 kilometers of available slopes. In 2019, the alpine center was open from December 1 through April 21 with an average snowfall of 200 cm. The

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

operates a facility near Gautefall Fjellkyrkje at the bottom of the ski slopes. It is staffed during weekends in the wintertime as well as during the Easter and winter holidays. Emergency services on site are offered by Drangedal Red Cross. Gautefall

was launched in 2009, and numerous regional and international competitions take place at the center. The biathlon facility has 31 slices, floodlights, and 4.2 kilometers of asphalted and lighted trails. The facilities are used for lighted

s during winters, while they are used for

rollerskating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreation, recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on s ...

during the summer months.

Recreation

Gautefall is home to numerous hiking trails, including Havrefjelløypa and Heigeitilløypa, two trails connecting Gautefall with

. The 20 km trail Heigeitilløpya was opened in 2009 and connects Gautefall with Holmevatn Lake at Kyrkjebygdheia in the north, while the 6 km roundtrip Havrefjelløypa trail leads to the peak at Havrefjell mountain. Several trailheads can be found by the Gautefall Skicenter, including the trail to Himmelriket (Jørundskarsvåene), which is marked by blue poles from the hotel. The 3.9 km trail to Himmelriket (“Heavenly Kingdom”) takes about one hour and leads to a

roche moutonnée In glaciology, a roche moutonnée (or sheepback) is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. The passage of glacial ice over underlying bedrock often results in asymmetric erosional forms as a result of abrasion on the "stoss" (upstr ...

rock formation created by a glacier during the last ice age. The smooth

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

sheepback is tens of thousands of years old and reached around 2.5 km from the hotel. There is also a large abandoned bearcave located here. The trail to Himmelriket traverses vegetationless areas, mountains, pine tree groves, and

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

oases before reaching large, smooth, glacial granite slopes. It is one of the most popular hiking trails at Gautefallheia. Other trails from the hotel include Jørundskarheia, which also has its trailhead by Nedre Langmyrtjern lake near the church Gautefall fjellkyrkje, and Bleka (Nonsåsheivarden) with its trailhead at Rytterspranget Kafé on top of the ski slope. Additional trails include the 7-km Reinsvassnuten, a peak which offers panoramic views of Heimdalsheia, residential areas, wilderness, and as far as the ocean outside

. The trail, which is maintained by the

Norwegian Trekking Association The Norwegian Trekking Association ( no, Den norske turistforening, DNT) is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism i ...

, follows birch and pine tree forests and hikers swim and fish at the nearby Reinsvatn Lake. The hike can be made shorter by accessing the trail from Bleka or Bjønntjønn ("Bear Lake") in neighboring

. From Bleka there is a trailhead for the trail to Holmtjennheia, a trail popular for fly fishing, berry picking, and hunting. This trail offers panoramic views of surrounding areas and lies adjacent to a number of lakes, including Store Daltjenn, Holmtjenn, Grunntjenn, and Lille Daltjenn. The trailhead for the peak Nonsåsheivarden (Blekavarden) can be found at Rytterspranget, on top of the ski slope, 678 meters above sea level. This peak offers views as far as

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. The ...

, and Kragerø, along with mountain peaks such as Jonsknuten, Lifjell, Vealøs, Mælefjell, Skorve, and

Setesdalsheiene Setesdalsheiene () is the collective term for the mountains to the west and east of the Setesdalen valley in Agder county in Southern Norway. The river Otra flows through the valley between the mountains. This area is primarily located in the mu ...

. The trail to Øyvann Lake is also reached from Rytterspranget. Gautefall Event is a company that offers

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

safari tours, guided ski trips, horseback riding, mountain hikes, and other recreational activities. Gautefall Skifestival is held every year with a variety of ski competitions.

Mountain climbing

For mountain climbing, adjacent Nissedal is home to Hægefjell, a popular destination for mountain climbing. In Gautefall proper, Jernveien (

) is a site by Hegneknuten where 165 iron steps have been bolted into the mountainside making a 170-meter climb to the peak. The mountain, Hegneknuten, is located one kilometer east of the ski center near Hegnemyrane. This mountain trail was opened in 2007 and climbers can rent instructors and equipment at the resort.

Fishing

Over a thousand lakes can be found at or near Gautefallheia. Many of these are used for fishing for species such as

Brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

European perch The European perch (''Perca fluviatilis''), also known as the common perch, redfin perch, big-scaled redfin, English perch, Euro perch, Eurasian perch, Eurasian river perch, Hatch, poor man’s rockfish or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply th ...

, and

Brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

. Fishing licenses are sold throughout the area at local gas stations, shops, and by gates near fishing lakes. Adjacent

is home to 1,750 lakes, and many are used for fishing, boating, kayaking, swimming, and other recreational activities. Nissedal is also home to Lake Nisser, which is the largest lake in Telemark County. Fish species in Lake Nisser include

Perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

Trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

, Lavaret, and

Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns in freshwater and populatio ...

Hunting

There are long traditions for hunting at Gautefallheia and nearby

, and

Gjerstad Gjerstad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet, in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with Telemark county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the villa ...

. Bird and

rabbit hunting Rabbiting (also rabbit hunting and cottontail hunting) is the sport of hunting rabbits. It often involves using ferrets or dogs to track or chase the prey. There are various methods used in capturing the rabbit, including trapping and shooting. ...

were previously most common, however, moose hunting is the most popular form of hunting in this area today. There is also some hunting taking place for

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

. Small game such as

beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

and deer are commonly hunted along Nissedal’s southern border to Gjerstad, while rabbit hunting is common near Ljosvassteigen on the border to Gjerstad and

Vegårshei Vegårshei is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra. Other villages in Vegårshei include Mo and Ubergsmoen. The municipality is the ...

. Gjerstadskogene by Solhomfjell is a popular site for those hunting birds, rabbits, beavers, and deer.

Wildlife

Wildlife includes the

Mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution The mountai ...

European beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a beaver species that was once widespread in Eurasia, but was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum. At the turn of the 20th century, only about 1,200 beavers surviv ...

European pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List ...

Norway lemming The Norway lemming, also known as the Norwegian lemming (''Lemmus lemmus'') is a common species of lemming found in northern Fennoscandia, where it is the only vertebrate species endemic to the region. The Norway lemming dwells in tundra and fell ...

European badger The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stabl ...

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

Red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

European hedgehog The European hedgehog (''Erinaceus europaeus''), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles.Harris, S. ...

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

, Short-tailed weasel, and

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

. The area is particularly known for its high moose population. The

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...

, and

Gray wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

are occasionally observed. Reptiles include the European Viper,

European smooth snake The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...

European grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogniz ...

, and the

Slowworm The slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a reptile native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, a slowworm, a blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple and hazelworm. These legless lizards are also sometimes called common slowworms. Th ...

. Raptors include the

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

European eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and females ...

Eurasian pygmy owl The Eurasian pygmy owl (''Glaucidium passerinum'') is the smallest owl in Europe. It is a dark reddish to greyish-brown, with spotted sides and half of a white ring around the back of the neck. This species is found in the boreal forests of North ...

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

Northern goshawk The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...

Common buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...

, Western Osprey, and various other species of owls, falcons, eagles, and hawks. Other notable avifauna includes the

Western capercaillie The western capercaillie (''Tetrao urogallus''), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse family and the largest of all extant grouse species. ...

Willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan () (''Lagopus lagopus'') is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known as the willow grouse and in Ireland and Britain, where the subspecies '' L. l. scotica'' was previo ...

Hazel grouse The hazel grouse (''Tetrastes bonasia''), sometimes called the hazel hen, is one of the smaller members of the grouse family of birds. It is a sedentary species, breeding across the Palearctic as far east as Hokkaido, and as far west as eastern a ...

Common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') and the Siberi ...

Black-throated loon The black-throated loon (''Gavia arctica''), also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winter ...

Lesser spotted woodpecker The lesser spotted woodpecker (''Dryobates minor'') is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus ''Dendrocopos'' (sometimes incorrectly spelt as ''Dendrocopus''). Some taxonomic authorities continue to list ...

White-backed woodpecker The white-backed woodpecker (''Dendrocopos leucotos'') is a Eurasian woodpecker belonging to the genus ''Dendrocopos''. Taxonomy The white-backed woodpecker was described by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802 under the b ...

Common sandpiper The common sandpiper (''Actitis hypoleucos'') is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (''A. macularia''), make up the genus ''Actitis''. They are parapatric and replace each other geographic ...

Wood sandpiper The wood sandpiper (''Tringa glareola'') is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the gree ...

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

Common goldeneye The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye (''Bucephala clangula'') is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek ' ...

Eurasian teal The Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca''), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being th ...

Common scoter The common scoter (''Melanitta nigra'') is a large sea duck, in length, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic east to the Olenyok River. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''melas'', "black", and ''netta'', "duck ...

Common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ...

Common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ...

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes ...

Western yellow wagtail The western yellow wagtail (''Motacilla flava'') is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident in the milder parts ...

, and the

national bird This is a list of national birds, including official birds of overseas territories and other states described as nations. Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status. National birds See al ...

of Norway, the

White-throated dipper The white-throated dipper (''Cinclus cinclus''), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies ...

Places of interest

*Gautefall Ski Lodge, ski resort *Gautefall Skicenter, alpine center *Gautefall fjellkyrkje, church *Rytterspranget, overlook point *Himmelriket (Jørundskarsvåene),

rock formation *Gautefall Nature Preserve,

*Lille Djupsånfjellet, 558 meter (1831 ft.) high mountain, nicknamed "Gautefallheia's

Preikestolen Preikestolen or Prekestolen ( en, 'The Pulpit Rock', 'Pulpit', or 'Preacher's Chair') is a tourist attraction in the municipality of Strand in Rogaland county, Norway. Preikestolen is a steep cliff which rises above Lysefjorden. Atop the cliff, ...

References

{{authority control Villages in Vestfold og Telemark