Preikestolen - Pulpit Rock
When first planning the Norway leg of our trip back in March 2018, we came across pictures of Preikestolen. Preikestolen translates in English to Pulpit Rock, and it gets it’s name because when viewed from the fjord below, it looks like a preachers’ pulpit. The top of the mountain plateau (the top of the pulpit) is 25 x 25 meters, so there is a lot of space to walk around and take in the gorgeous views of the Lysefjord below. For many people, just getting to the plateau is the goal of the hike. You can also climb up above the plateau for an additional view of the pulpit, and even more views of the surrounding mountains and the fjord below. This was really the only hike we had planned, as it was a must-do for us during our time in southwest Norway.
While researching the hike, we had seen it categorized anywhere between easy to challenging. Overall, we would probably place it closer to moderate. It was not hard to find our way on the path as the trail is labeled very well and there are defined pathways throughout 90% of the hike. In fact, Nepalese Sherpa stonemasons upgraded the pathway between 2013-2014, so for the majority of the time you are walking on beautiful rock paths or stairs. There are three steep sections, each of which are about 500m long. Some of these secions are quite steep, but we just took our time and had a couple of quick breaks on the way up. It is basically like climbing stone stairs that vary in steepness. It is not a very long hike, 4km each way, and the information center estimates the total trip time to be 4 hours (2 hours up and 2 hours back). It took us just under 2 hours to climb up to Preikestolen, and about an hour and 15 minutes to return back to our car.
We had planned to start the hike early in the morning. All of the blogs and information we had read about the hike had said the early the better so you can avoid the crowds from cruise ships and tourist guides. However, our Airbnb hosts had given us a great tip and had recommended that we actually plan to start the walk around 2:00pm. By that time most of the guided tours are leaving the rock and returning to the buses, so you pass some traffic on the pathway up, but the rock at the top is a lot less busy. We took their advice and planned to start our hike in the early afternoon. That was a little challenging for us, as we like waking up and heading straight to a hike. We don’t usually find ourselves needing to fill time before starting a hike.
Before the hike we made our way to Stavanger and took some time walking around the beautiful city. From there, we took a ferry to Tau to start our drive to Preikestolen. We arrived at the parking lot right at 2:00pm, and started the hike. We made our way up the first of three climbs. It was quite a steep climb, on a mix of trail and rock pathway. When you reach the top, you can look out to the parking lot. It was nice to be able to look down and see our car in the parking lot – it was already looking pretty far away! This first part of the hike in mainly in a forested area, it’s really the only part that provides some shade while on the hike. We were hiking on a beautiful day, it was 28 degrees (C) and sunny when we left the car, so we didn’t need to worry about too many layers. However, the sun was pretty toasty after we left the cover of the forested section!
View of the parking lot after the first climb.
A section of the rock pathway throughout the hike.
From there you go down a slight decline, while being surrounded by treed areas and meadow type terrain. The whole time you are walking on a beautiful pathway. Many times throughout the hike we would admire how much work and effort it must have taken to build the pathway. It’s so impressive! It doesn’t take long before you reach the second uphill section. The rock pathway continues up, which makes for some large steps in some areas. There are plenty of places to have quick stops along the way to rest and catch your breath. By this point we had passed close to 100 people making their way back down to the parking lot. No one was walking up with us, so in many spots it felt like we had the place to ourselves, which is very uncommon for this hike. It seemed like our local tip was quite accurate, and we were enjoying the uncrowded and peaceful hike.
After the short second climb, you again reach a flatter meadow section. Here you walk along a wood pathway, with trees and bushes on one side, and views of the mountains on the other. We were definitely feeling the heat, which was maybe the one downside about hiking in the afternoon.
Walkway during the flat meadow section.
From there you get to the third climb, which is definitely the most challenging part of the hike. It’s a pretty steep 600 meters climb up the large stone steps. The pathway is quite large, so there is plenty of room for people to go up and down, as well as stop and rest. While walking this section we couldn’t help thinking about stories we had heard of people hiking in high heels shoes and wedge sandals! We even saw some interesting outfits on our way up, everything from skirts, dresses, and suits! This hike definitely requires active wear, and although running shoes would probably suffice, we were very happy we had hiking shoes on.
After the third climb, the pathway evens out and you walk past a couple of small lakes. By this point, we are under a kilometer to Pulpit Rock, and the path was quite quiet. We had passed close to 200 hikers who were heading down to the parking lot, and had encountered maybe 4 people going to the top. It made the hike very peaceful and quiet, and many times we could stop and take pictures without anyone in the way. This was especially exciting during the last 500m, as the views get increasingly more spectacular! We were a bit nervous at first, as you stand so close to edges that literally just drop 600m straight down to the fjord below. So it was nice not to have people around us so we concentrate on taking some pictures and soaking in the views.
As we made our way to the plateau of the mountain, the views were incredible! You get to see up and down the Lysefjord, and see all of the other mountains and cliffs that surround this beautiful fjord. It was also nice and quiet at the top, with maybe 15 other people who were enjoying a snack and taking in the views. There were no lines to stand at the edge in order to take a picture, unlike many reviews we had read, so again we were so happy we went a little later in the day. After taking a few pictures, and having a quick snack to refuel, we took the additional path that went even higher up to get a look at Pulpit Rock from above.
The views continued to be spectacular, and although it was quite a bit windier, it felt like sweet relief from the hot sun. By this point there were only 1-3 people on the rock, so it really felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We took our time exploring the area, making our knees wobble as we tried to look over the edges at the sheer drop to the bottom, taking a ton of pictures (we have over 2000 from the hike) and just enjoying how beautiful the scenery is. We spent almost 2 hours at the top, and it was so nice to enjoy it and not need to rush back down. The time flew by because there was so much to explore, and the views were great. It was very peaceful to look up and down the fjord, it felt like we were on top of the world! We definitely think we had a unique experience because it was so quiet. So many posts that we read said that it was so crowded that they didn’t really spend much time on the top, which is really unfortunate.
We left the top of Pulpit Rock just before 6:00pm and started our hike down. The sun was still quite strong, and it was at least 26 degrees out. By now we were definitely feeling the heat, and although we had sunscreen on, we could feel our skin sizzling away! But it was a great opportunity for us to try to lose these terrible sunglass tan lines we had from the beginning of our trip in Germany.
On the trek down we were surprised with how many people we passed heading towards the top. We must have passed close to 40 people who were enjoying an evening hike, some of them starting quite late, as they were just starting as we were on the last descent to the car (meaning they would only return around 11:00pm). The walk down was very peaceful, and definitely went faster than the way up. We made it to our car in only an hour and 15 minutes. Once we got to our car we were quite happy to take off our shoes and enjoy the scenic drive and ferry ride home.
Overall we really enjoyed our Preikestolen hike. The hike up to the plateau was scenic and pretty, but the views really only become amazing once you reach the last 500 meters. From then on, the views take your breath away. It is super rewarding when you work your way up a trail and have the payoff of an amazing view, and that is definitely the case with Preikestolen.
