The valleys of the tributary rivers such as Otta and Gausa (Gausdal) are usually regarded as part of Gudbrandsdalen.

[6] The invention of the modern, firm, fatty variant of Brunost cheese is commonly attributed to the milkmaid Anne Hov from the rural valley.

The main character in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt was inspired by a real or legendary person living in the valley in the 18th or 17th century.

Historians believe there was a regional centre at Hundorp during the Viking era and that the name Gudbrand was used for many generations by the ruling family.

Gudbrandsdalen and adjacent valleys are surrounded by wide uplands and mountain plateaus traditional used as seter or summer farms.

[15][16] Lågen rose up to 7 metres (23 ft) above its normal level and covered most of the valley floor.

[16][15] The second largest flood occurred in the summer of 1995 and again the valley floor was largely covered by water.

The toxic cicuta virosa thrived on those bogs before they were drained and are known in Norwegian as selsnepe (literally Sel turnip).

[15] The central part of the valley is covered by the Losna lake, some 50–60 metres (160–200 ft) deep.

[18] The valley was shaped by the recent ice age and rivers from the present glacial areas in Jotunheimen and Dovre.

Bones and teeth from mammoths and musk oxen, living in the area at that time, are found in the valley.

The Gudbrand Valley is mentioned extensively in the Heimskringla (Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturluson.

[6] In 1206, the heir to the Norwegian throne, Håkon Håkonsson, was saved by birkebeiners with a ski-run from Lillehammer to Rena.

[6] This resulted in a temporary improvement for the lower classes as crofters became scarce and the poor were able to rent the better farms.

The Battle of Kringen took place in 1612, near Otta, Norway, and the local "Gudbrandsdøls" defeated a Scottish mercenary army.

The legends of this battle live on to this day, including the story of how the peasant girl Prillar-Guri lured the Scots into an ambush by playing the traditional ram's horn.

Storofsa happened in 1789, and is the greatest flood recorded in the Gudbrand Valley; several farms were devastated, and many people died.

The paddle steamer Skibladner on Mjøsa and Hovedbanen (the first railroad in Norway) connected the valley to the capital city, Christiania, in 1856.

Hamar-Selbanen changed its name to the Dovre Line in 1921, and the new main railway between Oslo and Trondheim, was completed through the valley.

The outdoor museum of Maihaugen, exhibiting historical architecture from all parts of the valley, opened at Lillehammer in 1904.