In the south of Norway, the 604-meter-high Preikestolen towers proudly above the Lysefjord. This enormous cliff – known in English as Pulpit Rock – owes its name to the dead-straight shape of the overhang. Quite a phenomenon! It’s no wonder Preikestolen is the most famous mountain in Norway. And that’s not just because the new Mission: Impossible – Fallout was filmed there!
How do you get to Preikestolen?
Preikestolen is located in the municipality of Forsand in the province of Rogaland and is easy to reach from Stavanger. From there it’s about an hour and a half’s drive to the parking lot at the start of the hike (including a ferry crossing). You can navigate to ‘Preikestolvegen, 4100 Jørpeland‘. At the parking lot you’ll find a souvenir shop where you can go with all your questions, a restaurant and restrooms. Parking costs about 12 euros for the whole day.
Tips
- In high season (July-August) the trail gets very busy. Keep that in mind, also when it comes to parking spots.
- It’s ridiculous how extremely (fast and dramatically) the weather in this country can change. So make sure you’re always well prepared! Check the weather forecast, wear layers and make sure you always have a foldable rain jacket or poncho in your backpack;
- Wear good hiking boots, your ankles will thank you. With a waterproof pair and good socks you reduce the chance of blisters.
- AL-WAYS bring food and drinks. Snacks give you energy, and make sure you have enough water.
- Don’t stray from the marked trail. It’s very dangerous and it’s very easy to get lost that way.
- For more packing tips, read my checklist for your hiking backpack.
My first real hike
As you can probably tell from the photos, our adventure to Preikestolen was quite a while ago. In fact, this hike was going to be my very first real hike! The very first time ever that I went into the mountains. And the very first day ever that I was in Norway. This is where it all began.
Learn from our mistakes!
The hike to the top of Preikestolen is eight kilometers long and takes about four hours in total, depending on how fast you are. The elevation gain is 500 meters. The earlier you start, the more you can take it easy, but always plan around the weather forecast. Learn from our mistakes, because we did the hike in the wrong clothes and in terrible weather. It didn’t make it any less beautiful, but to this day we laugh hard about how clueless we were back then (even though it was actually pretty dangerous).
More snacks is more better
The way up was tough for me. There was a lot of rain, the rocks were slippery, my fitness was terrible and, of all things, I was hiking in jeans. Bart-Jan got me through it by constantly motivating me, making sure I drank enough and every now and then shoving a snack into my mouth. So it’s really important to always bring food and drinks when you go hiking!
Love at first hike
And then something special happened. After a few hours of sweating, panting, crying, cursing and ranting, I was suddenly standing on top of one of the most famous and breathtaking pieces of rock in Norway: Preikestolen. I had climbed it. All I could do was grin, look around and shout “Wow!” This was SO cool! What a victory, and what a huge reward that view was for all that effort!
My love for hiking, the mountains and Norway was born. Since then I’ve climbed countless mountains and faced much tougher challenges. But as long as we do it together, we can handle anything. And the rewards keep getting bigger.
Descending through a waterfall
The way down was even more exciting than the way up. Because of the huge amount of rain, the path we had walked on the way up had turned into a WATERFALL. We had to be really careful, because slipping means you could take a very nasty fall. Luckily we made it back to the parking lot unscathed. All we had was some discolored clothing from the enormous amount of rain. To celebrate our victory, we covered the last bit of the way down by zipline. A perfect cherry on top.
Safety first
If my story gives you a huge itch to go and discover your own love for mountains/hiking/Norway, please take the tips I mentioned earlier to heart. Wear good shoes, prepare yourself, bring food and drinks, don’t do anything stupid and stay on the trail. Every year far too many tourists still have to be rescued from mountains by helicopter, and that number could drop a lot if you make sure you set out well prepared.
Happy hiking! 🙂
Personal travel advice
Would you like help putting together your dream trip to and through Norway? Or would you rather leave the planning of your trip entirely to someone else? Get in touch with me and soon you’ll be Lost in Norvana
