Drive it Yourself: Lom to Dombås on the Rv15 & E6

Here’s my guide from Lom to Dombås on the Rv15 and E6 highways. In June 2023 Sean and I decided to take a scenic road-trip through the fjords of Western Norway while the weather was good. My goal was to redo Trollstigen, which we had already done but only ever in bad weather. To get there, I thought it would be interesting to drive from Dombås along the Trollveggen mountains. This drive from Lom to Dombås doesn’t exactly have the most spectacular views, but it is a practical way of getting from west to east Norway. There are some interesting historic places along the way, and we cover those below.

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Online Guide

Information about points of interest
Images of each point of interest
Historic overview of the neighbourhood
Directions between points
Historic photos
Information about facilities along the way

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Information about points of interest
Images of each point of interest
Historic overview of the region & towns
Directions between points
Historic photos
Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.

Lom to Dombås via the Rv15 and E6

Lom Travel Guide

Lom is a beautiful town and well worth a visit when in Norway. It is located between some of Norway’s most famous national parks and is home to Lom Stave Church, one of the most impressive stave churches left.

Garmo

Village

Garmo is an interesting historic village. The village is mentioned in documents back to the 13^th century as a major farm. Over the centuries it has been divided into smaller farms.

One of the famous legends from Garmo is how it got its first church. The legend says that Torgeir, an old man from Garmo, was given fishing rights by King Olav (later Saint Olav) after a dispute in 1021 in exchange for converting to Christianity and building a church. The right to fish was always highly valued.

Garmo Stave Church is from around 1130. The church is no longer in the village; it was moved to Maihaugen in Lillehammer in 1921. The writer and Nobel Prize winner Knut Hamsun was baptized at the stave church in Garmo. His childhood home was located near Lom.

Today the village is known for its tradition-rich fiddling community.

Vågå Municipality

We are now in the Våga municipality, which itself is located within the Otta Valley. The area is mentioned in the Old Norse Sagas, and it is said that King Olav stayed here while christianising the region. The population was told they had to become Christian, or their homes would be burned down.

Most of the municipality is higher than 900m above sea level, and on the northern side of the valley the mountains can reach peaks of 1500m – 1600m above sea level.

Valdresflye Tourist Road

Just before reaching the village of Vågåmo, you’ll pass the turn to drive onto the Valdresflye Tourist Road, one of Norway’s 18 national tourist roads. You can learn more about it in a separate article.

Vågåmo

Vågåmo is a small village with around 1,500 people living there. It is located by the Våga Lake. In the centre of town is the Vågå Chruch from the 17^th century that was partly built with parts from an older stave church. The Vågå rectory (Ullinsvin) is where Edvard Munch’s great grandmother had a herb garden.

Vågåmo is one of the driest areas in Norway but has been hit by floods and landslides. Extreme floods and landslides have occurred throughout history; the best known is from 1789 while the most recent major event was in 2006.

Sel Municipality

Sel is regarded as the gateway to some of the most beautiful mountain areas in Norway, including Rondane and Jotunheimen. The word ‘sel’ comes from the Old Norse ‘sil’, which means ‘still, flowing water’. Here there is little rainfall, cold winters, and warm summers.

The village of Sel has several historic farmhouses. The famous novel “Kristin Lavransdatter” by Sigrid Undset is set in Sel on a fictional farm, and the movie from the 1990s was filmed here.

Rondane National Park

When the Rv15 meets up with the E6, there will be some turn-offs to head towards the Rondane National Park. We covered this in a separate article.

Dovre Municipality

Dovre is a municipality within the Gudbrandsdalen valley. Large parts of the municipality include the Rondane, Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella and Dovre national parks. The municipality is known for its rich flora and fauna, especially the musk ox. There are also populations of wild reindeer and wolverines.

Dombås

Dombås is a small town with a population of around 1,161 and is located at the northern part of Gudbrandsdalen. The village is a popular hub for access to the national parks in the surrounding area.

In historic times, Dombås was an important station for travellers heading between Oslo and Trondheim. Today it is still an important transport hub, with the Dovrebanen and Raumabanen railways meeting here. Also, the E6 and E136 highways meet here.