qupkene / Hikes / Preikestolen

Lysefjord · Rogaland

Preikestolen

The shortest of the famous routes, and by a distance the busiest.

Preikestolen is a flat square of rock, very roughly 25 m on a side, standing about 604 m above the Lysefjord. The walk in is short and the path has been extensively rebuilt with stone steps, so the difficulty is low and the traffic is correspondingly high.

Timing the crowd

Mid-morning to mid-afternoon in July and August is the peak, and the plateau can hold a genuinely uncomfortable number of people. Early morning and late afternoon are quieter and the light is better anyway. Note that the car park fills before the path does, so the constraint on a busy day is parking rather than the trail.

The edge

There is no railing and no barrier. The rock is flat and feels safe, which is precisely the problem: people back towards the edge to frame a photograph. Wet rock, a gust, and a rucksack that shifts are each enough on their own.

Outside summer

The route stays open, but ice on the built steps turns an easy walk into something that needs traction devices and judgement, and the exposed sections do not forgive a slip. Guided winter trips exist for a reason.

Combining it

Preikestolen and Kjeragbolten sit at opposite ends of the same fjord and are frequently done on consecutive days. They are not remotely the same difficulty, which catches people out. Public transport reaches both, seasonally.