Forollhogna

Forollhogna National Park was established in 2001 in central Norway, between the counties of Trøndelag and Innlandet, and protects some 1,060 km². It is known as the park of the gentle mountains, because its relief, unlike that of the alpine massifs of the south of the country, is of rounded forms and gentle grass-covered slopes.

That different geology — rocks softer and richer in bases than the usual quartzites and gneisses — produces fertile soils and an unusually rich mountain vegetation, with extensive herb-rich meadows and a diverse alpine flora. The result is a habitat of exceptional quality for herbivores.

Forollhogna therefore holds one of the healthiest and best-managed wild mountain reindeer populations in Norway, with animals reaching weights above those of other populations in the country thanks to the quality of the grazing. Managing that population, through regulated hunting and continuous monitoring, is central to the park's administration. The valleys descending from the massif preserve a cultural landscape of mountain farms and seter still in use, some of them specifically protected, and the park was declared precisely with the aim of keeping the mountain ecosystem and that traditional use together.