Preikestolen – our hike to Norway's most famous viewpoint

Text and photo: Helena Bergström

Both Preikestolen and Trolltunga attracted us, but after we read up on them, we realized that Trolltunga would be too tough. But Preikestolen… we wanted to try to get there! Is the hike worth the effort…? We would soon find out…

The journey towards Preikestolen

After checking out the Låtefossen and Langfoss waterfalls, it was time for us to drive towards Preikestolen. The road was incredibly beautiful, lined with water and high mountains, and we began to prepare for the hike.

The evening before the hike, we chose to pull into the Preikestolen campsite. Here you have access to fresh water and garbage disposal, but no other services. The advantage, however, is that you are close to the Preikestolen parking lot (where you are not allowed to park overnight).

Early morning at the parking lot

We had prepared to leave early, but we were still far from the first. Already at around 4am we heard the first campers leaving. When we left, at around 6am, there were probably only half of the campers left at the campsite.

If you want a spot in parking lot 1 with a camper van during high season – yes, then you have to be this early. When we arrived just after 6:00 AM, we grabbed one of the very last camper van spots. If you arrive later? Yes, then you can park in Parking lot 2, from where there is also a path up towards the mountain, although it will be a bit longer.

We knew that the hike could be quite challenging for us, so we prepared ourselves thoroughly with practical hiking clothes and a big lunch bag with water, coffee, cookies and a pasta salad each. Then we were as ready as we could be…!

The hike up to Preikestolen

Now the hike up to Preikestolen began, and it began with a heavy uphill climb on gravel. This early in the morning, the trail was quiet, and most of the people we saw were experienced hikers in classic hiking clothes.

A path built by Sherpas

After the first gravel hill you come onto natural stone steps built by Nepalese Sherpas. These are both beautiful and quite pleasant to walk on, although of course you have to be a bit focused and watch where you put your feet.

Steep climb

A large part of the hike involves walking steeply uphill, and as an experienced hiker it is of course quite strenuous. What felt good was that we had plenty of time, and that you can stop as often as you want. For our part, there were quite a few breaks – sometimes just to catch our breath, and sometimes to strengthen ourselves with coffee and cake.

Along the way we met many other hikers, mainly from Norway, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, but also from countries such as Spain, France and China. Some were well-trained and passed us at a faster pace, while others struggled and had to pause at least as often as we did, or even more often.

Varied nature along the trail

One thing that surprised us was how varied the nature is along the trail. First, it doesn't go uphill all the time – sometimes the upward trend is interrupted by flat areas, or downhill slopes.

Secondly, the views are varied. Sometimes it's forest and rocks. Other times it's marshes or lakes.

When the Pulpit Rock suddenly appears

To finally, for us, after just over two hours, approach Preikestolen is of course fascinating. I, who am afraid of heights, found it dizzying long before we arrived. The path leads towards the end along steep cliffs, and in the fog it was also difficult to know how steep it was.

Even though we had thick fog when we arrived, Preikestolen was still clearly visible. The sheer wall is razor-sharp, and the drama couldn't be washed away by a little fog.

We were up on Preikestolen fairly early in the day, around 9am, but by now quite a few people had already found their way here. Some were braver than others, but we were glad that no one ventured too close to the edge.

I myself got dizzy just being up there, even though I did my best to keep my distance from the cliff. I'm afraid of heights, so for me the visit wasn't about sitting on the far edge for the perfect picture. Quite the opposite. Just walking out onto the cliff itself was a bit of a personal challenge, and I kept a safe distance from the cliff the whole time.

The view from Preikestolen

Personally, I can't speak of any magical views from Preikestolen. When we were here, the fog was thick, and we could hardly imagine what was beyond the cliff.

Still, it was dizzying to be up here. The shape of the cliff is spectacular, and it was especially so with all the people sitting up here, just soaking up the atmosphere.

Even though it wasn't until 9:30 a.m., we ate our pasta salad here. Considering we had been awake more or less since 4:00 a.m. – and had done what was for us a tough hike – it already felt like half a day had passed.

We walked around a bit, to see the cliff from different angles, but we kept our distance from the edges the whole time.

The fog was fascinating in a way, while it would have been nice to see the view of the fjord in the sun. The image below (which is an AI-generated image) describes how the cliff might appear under other circumstances.

The walk back

When you get to the top you feel a bit like ”I did it!”, but you have to go down too. For us, the hike went downhill almost as long as it took to get up.

Going downhill is less physically demanding, and less tough on the lungs. On the other hand, you have to parry and take the weight on the downhill slope, and that's hard in a different way.

When we finally got back to Base Camp, we were pretty tired.

Practical information about hiking to Preikestolen

It is wise to prepare yourself before setting out to hike to Preikestolen. The hike is quite tough but most people who are mobile and in normal fitness can handle it. To make it an enjoyable experience, it is important to have the right clothing, supplies and enough time.

Our continued journey

After our hike up and down to Preikestolen we were quite tired. However, we had seen that there was a viewpoint nearby, and we wanted to check it out. So we made our way to Høllesli viewpoint, which offered fantastic views.

We then stayed for the night at Viewpoint Lysefjord. This was a perfect last stop, before we were to take the ferry onward the next day.

More to see and do in this part of Norway

Want to experience more of Norway after you've visited Preikestolen? Here you'll find tips and reports about areas to visit in this part of Norway:

• Hardangerfjord
• Waterfall in Voss
• Sognefjord