A quiet Preikestolen view
If you plan on going to Norway, and buy any tourist guide (really doesn’t matter which one) there is one recommendation they will all include: hiking up to Preikestolen or ‘Pulpit Rock’. There are several reasons why everyone tells tourists to go here. For one, it is an easily accessible hike up to a beautiful view of the Lysefjord. In addition, it’s clearly marked and there are plenty of parking places. But it is also where the Norwegian tourist association wants you to go: they want all their tourists to tackle this hike, instead of going off on their own without any hiking or outdoor experience.
Reading this, you might question why you would then go up there. Aren’t we all a little rebellious deep down? Well let me ease your mind: with the right timing it truly is a gorgeous hike and great stop to add to your Norway itinerary!
Parking for over a thousand cars
Looking up the hike to Preikestolen, we quickly found that there is parking space for 1.000 (!) cars and 20 tour buses at the start of the route. If you are like us, and like yours hikes quiet and scenic this might put you off. If you park your car for more than two hours, you automatically pay the maximum fee of 250 NOK. If you’re hiking and not (trail)running the route you will almost certainly need more than 2 hours so assume this will be your cost.
Starting in the dark
Since reading about the many parking places, we decided to be creative in our approach to this hike and try to find a way to enjoy it the most. The answer came in the Scandinavian summer. Since it doesn’t get completely dark in the summer months in Norway, you have many more options and time for travelling. We set ourselves up on a camping close to the starting point: Preikestolen Camping AS. Not the prettiest or natural campsite, but one with plenty of toilets and showers. It is clearly used for the same purpose we had: sleeping before heading up the rock. We went to bed early, earplugs and sleep mask at the ready. The alarm was set for 03.00u in the morning. As quietly as we could we broke down camp, had some coffee and drove off towards the parking.
Arriving at the parking lot before 4 o’clock in the morning paid of. It was still dark, and there were about 20 cars parked in total. We quickly added ours and took off hiking. Our goals was to arrive at Preikestolen before 05.20u, when the sun would officialy rise.
About the hike
The hike up to Preikestolen will seem easy if you are an experienced hiker. It is an 8km round-trip, taking the same route up and down. In total you gain about 450m in elevation. The route is well marked and very nice to walk. It runs through a bit of forest and rock plateaus. Uniquely for Norway they added some rope rails at a few points for safety and to help you along. We hiked it partly in the dark with our headlamps on. In total the way up took us a little more than 1 hour and we met only a handful of other people on the trail. Going down, the trail was a lot busier meaning it also took us about an hour to get back to the car.
About that view
Getting up there might be a little demanding, especially in the dark, but it’s more than worth it. Just look at those views! We arrived just in time for the sunrise and spend a good 2 hours at the top, just taking it all in. We even brought our little camp stove and took the time to make some warm oatmeal and enjoyed our breakfast with an amazing view. Just like us, most of the people there this early were quiet and wanted to enjoy the view. Everyone got plenty of time to take their own pictures and stand as close to the edge as they dared. As mentioned before, going back down was so much busier than getting up. In our opinion this really means you enjoy the route less. Our recommendation is therefore to take the time to plan, and ensure that at least on half of the route is done at a quieter moment of day. Also note that it is not allowed to camp up on the Preikestolen itself, there are no toilets on the route (but they are present at the parking lot), and you should never leave any trace behind. If you follow these rules, get out there early, we are certain you will enjoy it as much as we did!
