Hardangervidda begins immediately south and west of Geilo, and the village is one of the main trailheads onto the plateau. In summer the landscape is open tundra: lichen-coloured rocks, shallow lakes, wide skies, and very long views. The Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) runs a network of huts a day's walk apart, so multi-day crossings are well organised and don't require a tent.
In winter the same terrain is skiable on cross-country gear, and the same hut network operates, though the weather can be ferocious. The Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre Pavilion at Tverrfjellhytta on the northern edge of the plateau is one of the more interesting modern Norwegian buildings; the southern Hardangervidda Natursenter at Eidfjord (on the Hardanger fjord) is the easiest visitor centre to reach from Geilo by road.