After moving to Western Norway it was a bit embarrassing to have less experience with touristic sights than visiting foreigners. But finally I have completed the top three sights for those with no fear of heights: Kjerag, Preikestolen and Trolltunga.

Western Norway has some quite amazing sights. After the last ice age most of the area was shaped with amazing fjords and steep mountains. Three of these places are called Kjerag, Preikestolen (also known as Pulpit Rock in English) and Trolltunga (Troll tongue).

Kjerag

Kjerag is a mountain roughly 1100 meters hight. What separates it from other mountains is the Kjerag boulder, a large rock lodged between two two mountain sides, suspended almost a kilometer above the ground.

Practical information

The starting point for the hike is just above a two hour drive from Stavanger. From here the hike is roughly 4.5 km to the boulder itself. Although the difference in elevation between start and end point is not very big, the trail goes up and down over and over again, so a fair amount of steep walking is required. Some parts of the path are so steep that a rope is needed to keep balance. It is definitively not recommended to undertake the hike on a rainy day, but it’s no problem on sunny days. Estimated time to the boulder really depends on what shape you are in. Many webpages suggests around 2 hours; the record is an incredible 1 hour 13 minutes to the top, take a picture and down again. Pretty crazy! Personally I have made the hike in 1 hour 14 minutes, but that’s just one way. Kjerag has become very popular over the past years, go early in the day to avoid queuing and waiting to take a picture on the top.

As Kjerag is quite high up snow is present for a very large part of the year. The first time I did the hike there was snow here in July. Recommended hiking times are therefore from June to September.

On the way up

My unlimited wanderlust is probably not the most strategic thing to bring for a mountain hike. “Slow and sturdy” is simply impossible when I know that there are interesting things at the end of the path. A few hundred meters up the mountain I have to slow down a bit as the body does not agree on the pace with the wanderlust. Already on the first top the view is amazing and it is really far down to the fjord. Further on the path goes down a small valley before continuing. Going down does of course mean going up again, the trail is after all leading to a mountain top. After climbing the second top this is repeated. The third and last top is a bit longer, and every time you think you have made it to the top you realise that it goes a bit further up behind the edge you are just passing. Finally the landscape straightens out and from here on it is mostly flat.

On the boulder

One thing you will learn if you go to Norway is that mountain hiking is quite different from urban Norway. There’s safety regulations for more or less anything and few populations are as socially awkward as the Norwegians. However, if you go for a mountain hike, this totally changes: It is mandatory to say hello to more or less everyone you need, and all forms of safety are banned (not really, but you can more or less go wherever you want to go, and nature looks… ehh… natural. No ugly safety features here). What this means practically is that you have to get onto a small rock lodged between two mountain sides. If you slip while out there, well, let’s just say that you shouldn’t do that. There used to be a rope to hang on to while entering the boulder, but the last time I was visiting this rope was gone. A metal pin used to hold the rope is still present and gives you something to hold onto, but it’s not really the best safety feature in the world. Luckily the ground below the boulder is a steep hill, so it is possible to survive if you fall down. As a matter of fact a woman fell down a few years ago and survived with only minor injuries. Talk about luck!

Going onto the boulder and looking ahead is not that bad (with the back facing the fjord). In front of you it’s “only” 15-20 meters down, but I made the mistake of looking behind me, where the drop is almost a full kilometer. The legs instantly turned more jelly-like, but I made it fine.

Next onto the boulder is a woman from Northern Norway. She makes the same mistake as I did and look down towards the fjord; however, her fear of heights far exceeds mine. She shouts to her friend that she doesn’t dare to go back and stays on the boulder. I did feel sorry for her, but at the same time I cannot help but laugh…

Bragging photos

A trip like this is not complete without a few show-off photos:

After an hour or so on the top it’s time to go back down. Even though the hike is now going down you still have to ascend from the valleys, and many of the steep places are scarier to walk down than up.

Is it worth going to Kjerag? Yes, by no doubt. You do not only get an experience for life and the possibility to see amazing nature, but also some photos that exceeds most other holiday photos.

Ut.no has some very useful information about Kjerag, although mostly in Norwegian. Read more here.

Preikestolen

Next up is Preikestolen. Describing this place is very simple. It’s on top of a place where it is far down. Straight down. Really straight down. Being a bit more descriptive: It’s a plateau roughly 25 by 25 meters elevated 604 meters above the fjord below and visited by more than 200 000 people every year.

Practical information

The starting point is around 1.5 hours of driving from Stavanger. From here the hike is 3.8 km to reach the top. Unlike Kjerag the trail is better and by far an easier hike to make. The trail has been “sherpified” as the call it, after the Nepalese sherpas went to Norway to improve it. It takes between one and two hours to walk one way; Tora and I spent 1 hour 5 minutes to the top. Just like Kjerag it is very popular and crowded. Getting early up in the morning is a good idea to avoid queues and getting pictures of more than just a bunch of people. We went by bus and did unfortunately not have the ability to make our own schedule. The result was lot’s of people everywhere…

 Going up

There is a trail all the way to the top with no major challenges. Still one does come prepared with proper shoes, water and the typical gear for a minor mountain hike. Or not? It’s quite amazing to see people ascending the mountain in crocs, sandals, flip-flops and other means of footwear that has no place on a mountain. What are these people thinking? Some might believe that hiking in Norway is like the US, where there’s a road all the way to the attraction. For instance Yosemite has a two lane road all the way into the national park, and is wheelchair accessible all the way to the interesting things one would like to see. Norway is not like this in any way. One may wonder how these people are able to get up and down again, but in many cases the answer is that they don’t. Numerous rescue operations happen each year because people undertake the hike totally unprepared.

On the top

After an hour we finally arrive at the plateau and can enjoy the view and lunch. There’s a plethora of people and we almost need to squeeze between them to get a picture on the edge. For some reason it’s much more scary to sit on the edge here compared to Kjerag, even though the distance is ridiculously far in both cases.

Is it worth going to Preikestolen? Of course, and since it’s the easiest of the three hikes it’s a good one to do first if you are in doubt about how well in shape you are.

Ut.no has some very useful information about Preikestolen, although mostly in Norwegian. Read more here.

Trolltunga

Last on the list is Trolltunga, also known as Troll tongue in English. It is a piece of rock sticking elevated roughly 700 meters above the ground below, in the middle of nowhere. Neither Kjerag nor Preikestolen can compare to this. It’s far, high and unique.

Practical information

Trolltunga is located near the town of Odda. The hike is long and therefore hard to make on a day trip from any of the major Norwegian cities. Luckily there are both camping sites and hotells in Odda, but be aware that they are quickly booked. Getting to Odda takes just below 3 hours from Bergen and around 4 hours from Stavanger. From Odda there’s a 20 minute drive to Skjeggedal where the trail starts. From here it’s roughly 11 km to walk, with a change in elevation of about 800 meters.

How well trained you are does of course impact the time you need to get to the top, if you can make it there. Most webpages says to expect 3-5 hours one way. I used 3 hours 11 minutes myself, a time I’m pretty happy with.

In the two other places it’s recommended to get up early in the morning. On Trolltunga it is much more important to do this. Late in the morning and in the afternoon the line can queue up to two hours to get onto the “tongue” itself. If you get there early enough it’s no line at all. I recommend starting the hike as soon as the sun rises in the morning.

The first km is the worst

The rest is still quite far

After 3 km we decide that it’s better to take photographs and enjoy the scenery on the way down, and to pick up the pace to get to the top a bit faster. Sometime later I remind my colleagues that I travelled with that this is not a race; however, second place is after all first looser. Out of the blue the pace suddenly increases. From using 40 minutes on the first kilometer we are now down to 13 minutes. This is mainly due to the terrain straightening, but the motivation also rises substantially where you pass the distance markers more frequently.

Going up we notice that some people are spending the night in tents. This could be a good way of splitting the hike into multiple legs, just remember that the tent has to be carried to the top, especially past those first 1000 meters.

Out on the tongue

We started the hike at 6 in the morning and combined with a fairly fast pace we only see 10-20 people on the top when we arrive. Two hours later we prepare to go down again (it’s still just 11 in the morning), and it appears to be hundreds of people here and the line to go out on the tongue itself looks pretty long. In other words: get there early.

The piece of rock itself inclines a bit upwards as you walk towards the edge, aiding you in not having a total panic of suicidal fear as you get closer to the edge. There are actually warning signs here stating that you are not allowed  to sit on the edge (I know, there’s usually no warning signs in Norwegian mountains at all), but most people seem to ignore this. If you are allowed to stand on a tiny rock 1000 meters above the fjord at Kjerag then a large part of a mountain can’t possibly be more dangerous. It is also kind of ironic that many ad-posters for Trolltunga features someone sitting on the edge…

Going down

For many people going down is worse than going up, especially if you have bad knees. The hard surface and the constant flow of late people ignoring the warning that one should not start the hike after 10:00 in the morning makes the descent challenging for many.

Half way down we meet two Norwegians carrying their bicycles on their backs. They are carrying them all the way to the top, and will then ride them down again. How someone has the strength and bravery to do this is beyond my understanding, but it is by far very impressive.

Half past three we are down again and people are still starting their hike at this time. There is not way they will make it down before sundown, this has unnecessary rescue operations written all over it…

Is it worth going to Trolltunga? It is beyond any doubt an amazing experience, but you have to really evaluate if you have the physical strength it takes to get all the way to the top. If you are young and in normal shape then it is no problem at all. However, if you consider bringing children, have a few kilos more than required on your body or is starting to age, then you should think twice before going. Either way it is possible to turn around if it’s too hard, just remember to make this call while you still have the strength to get all the way down again. One alternative in Odda to Trolltunga is to walk to Buerbreen. It is a part of Folgefonda, Norway’s third largest glacier. The hike here is roughly the same as going to Preikestolen, but by own experience I would say that it is a bit easier. The view is of course not the same as from Trolltunga, but it is anyway a nice place to visit.

Ut.no has some very useful information about Trolltunga, although mostly in Norwegian. Read more here.