Trolltunga is arguably the most well recognized hike in Norway with its famed cliff reaching out thousands of feet above a picturesque crystal glacial lake. This hike has been on my bucket list since I first saw the photos of brave hikers perched on the edge of the dangerous cliff. It’s like the Bondcliff of Norway on ten times more dangerous and exotic. Since I first saw photos of this hike I vowed to one day dangle my legs off of the Troll’s tongue and look out over the expansive scene. When I got the opportunity to take a few days off work and go on vacation this summer, I was fortunate to find a budget flight from Boston to Stavanger. After that, it was easy to convince my boyfriend Cawlin to join me on a unique road trip through the Fjords of Norway in August.

The hike to Trolltunga takes a little bit of planning but was overall relatively easy with many of the Norwegian websites having English translation. There are three options for trailhead parking to hike to Trolltunga. The first is P1 in Tyssedal, which is 300 NOK ($28) to park but very far from the start of the trail. Out and back without any form of public transport, the hike to Trolltunga from P1 is about 23.5 miles round trip, over half of which is on a windy road with little visibility. This option is used almost exclusively for campers and vans seeing as the road further than this is only suitable for vehicles 5.2m (17 ft) or less. There are several private companies that offer shuttles from P1 to P2 for an extra charge.

Parking at P2 in Skejeggedal is 500 NOK ($47) and at the base of the toll road leading to the start of the trail. This is a good budget option with the added choice of taking a shuttle to the trailhead or hiking the extra 2 miles each way. The public bus from Odda also drops off passengers at this parking lot, so that’s a great option if you don’t have access to a car.

Reserving parking at the uppermost P3 in Mågelitopp is the option we chose despite the significant fee. It was 600 NOK for parking with an additional 200 NOK for the toll road so converted it’s about $75. Although it was pricey, I feel that it was completely worth it. I’m not a huge fan of relying on public transport to trailheads because if something goes wrong you can be left without a ride, which was my fear in this case. The drive to P3 was treacherous with narrow switchbacks, little visibility, and two-way traffic with only room for one car at a time. These spaces need to be reserved ahead of time on this site, so this gave us a designated start time of 6:30am, which I felt left us plenty of time for the 12 mile hike. Plus the view from the parking lot was pretty spectacular!

After the nerve-wracking drive to P3 we started hiking around 7:00am. The trek started with a 100-yard descent to the true trailhead that we passed on the upper road. The beginning of the hike was relatively tame, winding through a beautiful alpine meadow complete with bubbling brooks and granite slabs. Although we started as early as we possibly could have given the parking situation, the trail was already quite crowded. I anticipated quite a few people seeing as this was one of the most popular trails in the country, but I had hoped we would have a jump on most of the other hikers with our early departure. I suspect many people drove up and parked at P2 at dawn in the morning, walking up the last part of the road, and starting early especially due to the limited number of parking spots at the trailhead.

The weather was a beautiful 60 degrees and sunny with the occasional cloud to shade us. This is my preferred hiking temperature because it allows you to stay cool while you’re working hard to ascend but not get too chilly when you take breaks. We were above treeline for the entirety of this hike so I was a little concerned of the exposure in case the weather changed. I had checked the radar before we left our campsite, but with the frequent changes we see in the White Mountains of I’m always a bit distrustful even of the most thorough weather report.

After the leisurely one mile warm up through rolling sub-alpine pasture we started the climb through a landscape that reminded me of high elevation passes in Southern California. The trail consisted of beautifully maintained granite staircases well marked by red blazes and iron posts. I was relieved that the trail was so defined because things can get quite confusing in alpine terrain. There was a surprising amount of flora with high elevation grasses and even blueberry bushes lining the trail. The staircase soon gave way to a series of vast granite slabs just before reaching the saddle between two rounded knobs. These slabs were moderately steep and very easy to climb with the traction of my trail runners. I love that my Altra Lone Peaks wear like a sneaker, yet they have the grip of a sturdy boot. I imagine this section could become very slippery and challenging when wet.

At the top of the pass, we were rewarded with our first glimpses of the panorama we would be rewarded with for the rest of the hike. I knew from my research about this hike that there was a large lake between us and the mountains in the distance, but we couldn’t quite see it yet. Instead, we could see a few jagged mountain tops and rolling granite knobs sprinkled with green alpine pastures and the occasional shine of a waterfall in the distance. We soon passed a crystal alpine lake so still it mirrored the fluffy clouds floating peacefully above us. I was surprised to see such a pristine water source so high up. Cawlin and I had packed over three liters each just in case there wouldn’t be reliable water, so we were reassured that we would not have to worry about dehydration today.

The trail winded along the ridge twisting its way closer and closer to steep cliffs dropping to the lake thousands of feet below. Finally we got our first glimpses of Ringedalsvatnet, the glacial lake, with it’s aqua water glistening in the sun. The mountains across were carved into a bowl like a giant had taken a huge ice cream scoop to the earth’s rocky surface. The sun shone through the partly cloudy sky streaking its brightness into glowing beams striking the gray granite in the distance. The view was spectacular.

The terrain was rolling with gentle elevation changes following the outline of the lake far below. We hopped over small streams and were in awe of the terrain around us. As we approached our destination the terrain became increasingly rocky but not unpleasant. The trail was well marked and well traveled so there was no question of the correct route. Looking at the Gaia GPS route there were many small winding trails towards the end of the hike, so I was worried that route finding could become confusing. It was very clear and we were encouraged by signs indicating how many kilometers we had already traveled and how many were left until Trolltunga.

Finally, we came to a large clearing in front of the massively reaching cliff. We couldn’t see Trolltunga right away, but as we approached the last few feet before the steep drop, we could see the overhanging ledge where hikers were perched to take photos. The cliff was just a dramatic and terrifying as the photos I had studied time and time again. The drop was dizzying and enthralling at the same time. A wave of panic sent a knot to the deepest part of my stomach at the thought of walking out to the edge of such a precarious looking structure. One wrong move could certainly send you plummeting to your demise.

Despite this, there was a line of people waiting their turn for a photo at the edge of this gravity defying structure. Cawlin and I contemplated the logistics of how we would get a photo together on the cliff since they needed to be taken from a separate, less precarious cliff a few hundred feet away. Cawlin got in line and I chatted with a few other hikers having the same conundrum. I ended up offering to take photos of another couple who then returned the favor.

When it was our turn to inch our way out to the ledge, I didn’t have time to be terrified of the drop. I didn’t want to hold up the line so I focused on my feet as I walked carefully to the edge for our photo. I wanted to take a picture hanging my legs off the edge of the cliff, so when the time came, we slid on our butts until we were at the cliff’s edge. I was too scared to look down and instead took in the views around me. It was truly breathtaking.

After wiggling our way back onto solid ground, we found a quiet spot to eat lunch before the long hike back to the car. The adrenaline that pulsed through my veins while I was out on the cliff soon wore off into jet-lagged exhaustion. We had just made the long flight from Boston the day before, and I hadn’t quite recovered yet. I had woken up at 1:00am that morning unable to sleep partly from the time change and partly from the excitement and anticipation of checking such an epic hike off of my bucket list. That being said, I was running on fumes energy-wise, so the hike out felt incredibly long.

When we made it back to the car I was so happy to take off my pack and shoes and relax for the rest of the evening. In planning our trip to Norway, I had booked us campsites every night in an effort to keep the trip affordable, but a few weeks before this hike I decided to reserve a hotel room to relax in after our long day of hiking. Hotel Ullensvang was only an hour up the coast of Hardangerfjord and had a luxurious spa to relax in after our outing, so we decided to splurge a bit in order to have a sauna and hot tubs to relax in. They even had rowboats to take out onto the fjord, which was a gorgeous. It was so worth it!

Overall Trolltunga was just as picturesque and epic as I imagined these past few years, and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to Norway for this special hike. I have a long list of hikes that I’ve been dreaming about, including the John Muir Trail, the Tour du Mont Blanc, and Mt. Kilimanjaro, and although this objective was less involved it was just as satisfying to be able to experience it in person. Sometimes when you have an image of what a hike will look like for many years, it can be disappointing in real life if it doesn’t live up to the hype, but Trolltunga definitely exceeded my expectations!

Be sure to check out our other hikes in Norway and my other posts about international adventures as well!