Hovden is a village in the municipality of

Bykle Bykle is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bykle. Other villages in Bykle municipality include Berdalen, Bjåen, Breive ...

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

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 located in the northern part of

Setesdalen Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the valley o ...

valley, on the

Norwegian National Road 9 Norwegian National Road 9 ( no, Riksvei 9, ) is often called the ''Setesdal Road'' ( no, Setesdalsveien) and it is the main thoroughfare through the Setesdalen valley. It runs from the city of Kristiansand in the southern coast of Norway, throu ...

and the river

Otra The Otra is the largest river in the Sørlandet region of Norway. It begins in Setesdalsheiene mountains at the lake Breidvatnet in Bykle municipality in Agder county, just south of the border with Vinje municipality in Vestfold og Telemark count ...

, on the eastern shore of the lake

Hartevatnet Hartevatnet or Hartevatn is a lake in the municipality of Bykle in Agder county, Norway. It is located along the river Otra, on the south side of the village of Hovden. The lake is a good fishing spot and contains many brown trout. The Norwegian ...

. The village sits about north of the village of

and about east of the village of

Breive Breive is a village in Bykle municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the northern part of the Setesdalen valley, on the northern shore of the lake Breivevatnet, about west of the village of Hovden, Agder, Hovden. The small ...

. The village has a population (2019) of 413 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of . Fjellgardane Church is located in Hovden.

Tourism

Cabin in Hovden - Flickr - Graham Grinner Lewis

The Hovden area is a major winter tourism area since it is located in the

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 ...

mountains and near many lakes such as

Skyvatn Skyvatn is a lake in the northern part of the municipality of Bykle in Agder county, Norway. The lake is located south of the lake Holmavatnet and northwest of the lake Hartevatnet. The village of Hovden in Bykle is the nearest village, locate ...

, Holmavatnet, and

Vatndalsvatnet Vatndalsvatnet or Vatnedalsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Bykle in Agder county, Norway. The lake lies about west of the village of Berdalen and the river Otra. The nearby lakes Ormsavatnet and Store Urevatn flow into the lake through ...

. Hovden has many

leisure activities Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure a ...

in the wintertime, especially

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

. There is a major downhill

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

in Hovden as well as a water park and

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

. In the summertime, tourists come to go hiking and fishing in the lakes. The Ørnefjell Golf Course in Hovden is a 9-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. The area has

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

's southernmost occurrence of wild

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

. In the autumn, Hovden is known for its abundance of

bilberries Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillu ...

lingonberries ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...

, and

cloudberries ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackb ...

References

External links

Hovden

Summer in Hovden

Winter in Hovden
* {{authority control Ski areas and resorts in Norway Villages in Agder Setesdal