Like all other fjords in Norway, Lysefjord was formed as a tectonic fault caused by the movement of crustal plates during the Caledonian orogeny process about 400 million years ago.
During the Ice Age, this crack was filled with ice, which, moving towards the sea, carried debris from the surrounding mountains. Falling down, this fragmentary material, reaching the glacier bed, smoothed out the sides and bed of the fault as it moved with ice. Melt water also acted in the same direction. In scientific circles, this phenomenon is known as glacial erosion (German: Glazialerosion).
After the glacier retreated, the “giant crack” filled with water. This happened approximately 10,000 years ago. Lysefjord stretches from west to east for 42 km. The height of the vertical rock walls above the water reaches 1 km.
Due to the difficult terrain, there are only two settlements on the banks of the fjord - Lysebotn (Norwegian: Lysebotn) and Forsand (Norwegian: Forsand).
The center of fjord tourism is the village of Oanes, where you can get information and a first impression of the fjord's attractions. You can take a tour of the fjord in your own kayak. Possible parking spots exist on the southern shore, but due to the steepness of the slopes there are few of them - only 4 per 40 km of the route. In the summer season, a boat runs from Forsand to Lysebotn several times a day. Near the power plant you can see a flock of seals in the water.
Most Popular Attractions
Lysebotn
Lysebotn is a town at the farthest eastern part of the fjord. The population mainly consists of workers from the two hydroelectric power stations that are nearby - Lyse and Tjodan. Both power plants are built into rock. At Lyse, water falls onto the turbine from a height of 620 meters and produces 210 MW of energy. At Tjodan the power is 110 MW with a water fall from 896 meters. Two power plants provide electricity to more than 100 thousand people.
The only road connecting Lysebotn with the rest of the world makes 27 sharp turns with an elevation gain of more than 900 meters. One of the turns of the road passes through a tunnel. During the summer season, a tourist ferry runs between Lysebotn and Lauvik twice a day. While traveling through the fjord, a sightseeing tour is conducted over a loudspeaker in several languages - English, Norwegian, German. In the ferry cafeteria you can find free booklets with text in other languages, including Russian.
Hengyanefossen waterfall
Often cruise ships stop briefly in the middle of the fjord for tourists to admire the Hängänefossen waterfall, but sometimes the captain takes the ship right under the waterfall's jets! This 400-meter waterfall can also be seen if you go hiking in the mountains located on the northern shore of Lysefjord.
Preikestolen (Pulpit)
The most famous tourist attraction in Lysefjord is the Preikestolen rock, which hangs at an altitude of 604 meters. The rock is located on a flat high-mountain plateau with a total area of 600 square meters, and this relief was formed, apparently, about 10,000 thousand years ago, during the melting of glaciers. You can enjoy the view of Preikestolen from the fjord if you take a ride on a pleasure boat or ferry from Stavanger, Lauvvik, Forsand or other places.
The top of the cliff is about 25 by 25 meters in area, square and almost flat. The cliff overlooking the fjord offers magnificent views and is why the cliff is known as one of Norway's top natural attractions. Preikestolen is one of the most visited places in the region. More than 100 thousand people visit it every year.
According to an old legend, this giant cliff will collapse if 7 sisters marry 7 brothers from the same district (by district we mean one of the five unofficial regions of Norway). At the base of the site there is a crack 20-25 cm wide. If one day this rocky platform collapses into the waters of the fjord, then the split will pass precisely along this crack.
Kjerag Rock
Kjorag is a plateau overlooking the Lysefjord. Its highest point is at an altitude of 1084 meters above sea level. Most tourists climb Kjörag not so much for the beautiful views of the fjord, but to get to the “pea stone” or Kjöragbolton.
Kjoragbolton
Kjoragbolt is a huge boulder with a volume of approximately 5 m³ stuck between two vertical rock walls. Popular tourist spot. You can reach the surface of the stone without the help of climbing equipment, but the abyss under the stone reaches a depth of about a kilometer. In summer, when the weather is good, hundreds of tourists flock here not only from abroad, but also from Norway itself.
Eagle Nest
The journey to Kjørag begins from the town of Øygardsstølen, which means “Eagle’s Nest” in Norwegian. A small cafe built at an altitude of approximately 500 meters above the Lysefjord. The road leads here from Stavanger. There is a paid parking lot next to the cafe, where tourists leave their cars when climbing Kjörag. Here you can also find an information board giving you an idea of where you need to go and how far, as well as toilets and showers.
There is a steep road leading down to Lysebotn, consisting of 27 sharp turns. It is only open during the summer season. Øygardsstølen has an observation deck from which you can see both the sharp turns of the dangerous road and the town of Lysebotn itself.
The cafe staff consists of 1-3 people, here you can buy water, sandwiches, change change to pay for parking. You shouldn’t expect that you can get a serious meal here. You can also buy postcards with views of Lysefjord and Kjoragbolton here. The purchased postcard can be immediately sent by mail by paying the cafe employees. However, this is a common practice for tourist places in Norway.
Fleurley village
Flörli is a small village near Mount Kjerag. Its main attraction is an old power plant with pipes laid to a mountain lake and a long (4444 steps) staircase leading to the pipeline.
A permanent settlement in Fleurly arose in the 17th century. It was probably a sawmill on the Flørliåna River, to which a manor house was later added, which later grew into a farm. In 1708, a major landslide and rockfall completely destroyed the estate. Only about a century later this place was covered with greenery again. This land then belonged to Kollali (Norwegian Kallali) and was used exclusively for haymaking, grazing and felling.
In 1802, Fleurley was restored and continued its economic activities until 1915-1920. In 1916, during the active construction of a hydroelectric power station, economic activity in Fleurley ceased, and it turned into a small industrial village with its own school, store and post office.
Songesand village
Songesand is a village on the northern shore of Lysefjord, almost halfway between Forsann and Lysebotn. Part of the commune of Forsand.
There is a land connection with Årdal and the municipality of Hjelmeland (Norwegian Hjelmeland). The village has its own pier.
Previously, up to 36 people lived in the village, there was a post office and a school. The school finally closed in 1969. For the last few years before its final closure, only 3-4 schoolchildren were studying there.
Songesand received a new impetus for development in 1994, when ferries between Stavanger and Lysebotn began to operate regularly during the summer season.
Henyang
Henjane is a mountain on the northern shore of the fjord, near Preikestolen. A romantic legend about the German Heinrich and Sicca is associated with this place. The German Heinrich appeared on the fjord in 1915 and was engaged in fishing. One day he heard about a woman, Zikka, who lived at the very top of Mount Henyane. He climbed up and remained to live with Zikke. They had a child who did not survive the first cold winter. Heinrich was engaged in moonshine brewing, which was very profitable: moonshine was in great demand during Prohibition in Norway (1921). In particular, moonshine was supplied to Stavanger. Today we can see a small stone pier, near which Heinrich left his boat and climbed the mountain using a winch. Using the same winch, sugar was lifted up the mountain and moonshine was lowered down.
After a lengthy investigation, the police managed to track down the moonshiner and Heinrich was expelled from the country for this and many other illegal actions and the moonshine still was confiscated. After some time he returned to his Zikka. But after another scandal related to the sale of the boat, he disappeared forever. Zikke waited for him until her death, living in complete loneliness and poverty on Mount Henyang.
The confiscated moonshine still is stored to this day. It can be seen at Eugartstühl - the starting point for climbing Kjörag.
Lysefjord Nature Center
There is a large aquarium here, and right in the open air there are many ponds with fish, that is, in this nature center the Lysefjord is reproduced in miniature. All cruise boats also visit the Lysefjord Nature Center.
Old mill in Tau
The old mill complex at Tau consists of three well-preserved, fully equipped mill buildings, which are located on the waterfront at Tau, next to the new mill.
Refsu
A former steamship pier on the northern shore of the fjord. Today, only concrete remains can be seen here inside a small bay next to the stream flowing into the fjord. The first excursions to Preikestolen were organized back in the 1890s. The trail that all tourists use today to visit the plateau did not yet exist. It was laid through the rocky slopes a little later, at the same time passages were cut down along the rocks and handrails were made. Since it was difficult to get to Pulpit Rock by land, excursions were taken from here. A path led from Refsu to the Preikestool hut. Today, in its place there is only rusty reinforcement sticking out of the rocks.
Forsand
Forsand is the capital of the commune of the same name. The population is about 1000 people. Here in the Lysefjord delta the depth is only 13 meters. Forsand is a wealthy commune. The main income comes from the sale of electricity, the main consumer of which is the fourth largest city in Norway - Stavanger. A cable-stayed bridge leads from Forsand to the other side of Lysefjord. If you want to visit Preikestolen after climbing Kjörag, you can skip the ferry journey to Laurvik and take the car to Forsand, cross the fjord and get to the Preikestolen campsite.
Bridge over the fjord
At the very beginning of the fjord there is a suspension bridge of the same name. The bridge connects the town of Forsand with the opposite northern shore of the fjord.
One of the designers of the fjord bridge project was Os Jacobsen.
Construction of the bridge began in 1995, and two years later, in 1997, the bridge was put into operation. The length of the main span of the bridge is 446 meters, and the total length is 639 meters. The pylons are made of reinforced concrete and reach a height of 102 meters. Width - 12.3 meters.
BASE jumping
The cliffs of Preikestolen and Kjorag are suitable for base diving, but due to the large influx of tourists to Preikestolen, Kjorag has become the main jumping point. About 30 thousand jumps were made from the cliff into the waters of Lysefjord. Unfortunately, there were tragic incidents - several deaths were recorded. Unlike the troll wall, Lysefjord is one of the places in Norway where jumping is legal.
How to get to Lysefjord
From Stavanger
Lysefjord is located approximately 50 km west of Stavanger. Possibly get there:
By boat - in summer there is a bus from Stavanger to Lauvvik, where you can take a sightseeing ferry to Lysebotn. Or take the ferry from Stavanger to Tau, from there by bus to Preikestolen House.
From Bergen
Lysefjord is located approximately 300 km south of Bergen. Possibly get there:
- by car approximately 4 hours 15 minutes (excluding three ferry crossings).
- It's about five hours by bus.
- by plane to Stavanger approximately 35 minutes.
- the ship takes approximately 4.5 hours.
From Oslo
Lysefjord is located approximately 400 km southwest of Oslo. Possibly get there:
- by car from 5 to 8 hours.
- by train to Stavanger approximately 9.5 hours. In summer there is a bus from Stavanger to Lauvvik, where you can take a sightseeing ferry to Lysebotn. Or take the ferry from Stavanger to Tau, from there by bus to Preikestolen House.
During the rest of the year, you can take a ferry from Stavanger to Lysebotn.
By plane it takes approximately 55 minutes to reach Stavanger.
It is located in the Vestland region in Rogaland county near Stavanger. Due to its accessibility, undeniable spectacular appeal and educational value, it is one of the most famous tourist sites in Norway. Here, since the end of the last decade of the 20th century, a new type of parachuting has become widespread - base jumping, which is much more economically accessible than classic parachuting using aircraft. A popular place among hikers and boat tourists.
The length of the fjord is 42 km, the depth ranges from 13 meters - near Forsand, to 422 meters - in the Preikestolen area.
Origin [ | ]
Like all other fjords in Norway, Lysefjord was formed as a tectonic fault caused by the movement of crustal plates during the Caledonian orogeny process about 400 million years ago.
During the Ice Age, this crack was filled with ice, which, moving towards the sea, carried debris from the surrounding mountains. Falling down, this fragmentary material, reaching the glacier bed, smoothed out the sides and bed of the fault as it moved with ice. Melt water also acted in the same direction. In scientific circles, this phenomenon is known as glacial erosion (German: Glazialerosion).
After the glacier retreated, the “giant crack” filled with water. This happened approximately 10,000 years ago. Lysefjord stretches from west to east for 42 km. The height of the vertical rock walls above the water reaches 1 km.
Due to the difficult terrain, there are only two settlements on the banks of the fjord - Lysebotn (Norwegian Lysebotn) and Forsand (Norwegian Forsand).
The center of tourism along the fjord is the village of Oanes (Norwegian: Oanes), where you can get information and a first impression of the attractions of the fjord. You can take a tour of the fjord in your own kayak. Possible parking spots exist on the southern shore, but due to the steepness of the slopes there are few of them - only 4 per 40 km of the route. In the summer season, a boat runs from Forsand to Lysebotn several times a day. Near the power plant you can see a flock of seals in the water.
Lysebotn [ | ]
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| BASE jumping. Northern slope of Kjorag. 18-19 seconds of free flight attract extreme sports enthusiasts from all over the world. |
There is only a small area under the rock for landing |
Rules [ | ]
| date | BASE jumper | Age |
|---|---|---|
| August 16, 1996 | Sebastian Dectot | 24 |
| July 29, 1997 | Ulla-Stina Östberg | 46 |
| July 6, 1999 | Thor Alex Kappfjell | 32 |
| August 15, 1999 | Kirill Goretov | 29 |
| June 10, 2000 | Terry Forrestal | 52 |
| August 5, 2000 | Valentino Ventori | 30 |
| July 23, 2002 | Lori Barr | 37 |
| September 12, 2002 | Rob Tompkins | 30 |
| July 19, 2005 | Darcy Zoitsas | 39 |
| July 24, 2010 | Anton Knestyapin | 25 |
From 1994 to 2010, 10 deaths were recorded on Kjörag. The first such case was recorded in 1996. In 1999 and 2000, 4 more tragedies occurred. After each such incident, the police imposed restrictions on jumping and only thanks to the active work of the Stavanger B.A.S.E. Klubb, it was possible to avoid a complete ban on jumping, as happened on Trollveggen (Troll Wall) - another base jumping mecca in Norway, where jumping is currently completely banned due to numerous incidents. The founder of base jumping, Carl Boenish, also died while jumping from the troll wall.
The relatively strict rules for BASE jumpers on Kjörag are due to a desire to avoid future fatalities. To make a jump from Kjörag, you must follow the following rules:
Qualifications or experience must be documentedStatistics [ | ]
From 1994 to 2009, about 30 thousand jumps were made. Approximately 100 incidents and 9 deaths were recorded. A rescue helicopter was called in about 30 times to evacuate victims.
Rock climbing [ | ]
Kjörag is a very popular rock climbing destination. About 13 routes are known, mostly with a climbing level of 6-7 categories (according to Norwegian qualifications). Along the left edge of the central part of the wall is the Hoka Hey 7+ route, first climbed in 1996, and freestyle - in 1999. On the right is the Skjoldet A3 route (difficulty category 7), completed in 1995. In 2009, the St. Petersburg team made the first ascent along the center of the northern face. The route was named “Landskron”. .
From February 25 to March 10, 2009, a group of St. Petersburg climbers consisting of: Galina Chibitok (leader, kms), Vyacheslav Ivanov (kms), Alexey Lonchinsky (kms), Ivan Dozhdev (kms) and Valery Shamalo (ms) made the first ascent of the center of the northern walls of Kjörag. Route 6B of difficulty category was completed. The route received first place at the XXVII Russian Mountaineering Championship in 2009 in the first ascent class.
Fleurley [ | ]
Power plant 1917-1921[ | ]
The old power station building, built in the Art Nouveau style, measures 80 meters long and 9 meters wide. Today it is painted white and can be seen from afar. The central, largest hall used to house the turbine department.
Water for the power plant was taken from reservoirs in the mountains, which was delivered first through one pipe, and later through two pipes laid along the rocky slope of the fjord. These pipes have survived to this day. A funicular is built along the pipes and there is the longest wooden staircase in the world.
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| 1916-1917. Construction of a hydroelectric power station building. During the period of active construction, there were up to 119 employees in Flörli. | 2008 A hydroelectric power station operated in this white building from 1917 to 1921. On the left side of the building you can see the inscription Flørli. A wooden staircase of 4444 steps goes up the slope. |
In 1916, there were 119 workers in Fleurley, 28 women and 37 children. At the school, its building has survived to this day; in 1920-1925, 11 people studied. The school was closed in 1970 and the post office in 1981.
In 1999, with the opening of a new automated hydroelectric power station, the village was resettled.
Longest wooden staircase[ | ]
To operate the hydroelectric power station, water was required, which was delivered through two pipes laid along the slope. To serve them, a staircase was built next to them. The length of the stairs is 1600 meters, and the height difference is 740 meters. The staircase consists of exactly 4444 steps and is considered the longest wooden staircase in the world. The wooden staircase attracts tourists who are not averse to testing their strength. In the summer, there is a café and a small hotel in Flørli, and the Friends of Flørlis Venner organizes small exhibitions here.
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Left: An old pipeline that once supplied the old hydroelectric power station at Flourley, and a funicular rail. The funicular is currently not operational. On right: Initially, only one pipe was laid. Later, in order to increase the volume of water supplied, a second one was laid nearby. To the right of the pipeline are the funicular rails, in some places overgrown with bushes, and a wooden staircase consisting of 4444 steps. It is considered the longest wooden staircase in the world. |
New power plant 1999[ | ]
At the end of the 90s, a new power plant came into operation. It is completely carved out of the rock, just like the Olympic Hockey Palace in Lillehammer. Water is supplied from reservoirs located on the high mountain plateau. Work at the station is fully automated. The station belongs to the municipality of Forsand. Electricity is mainly supplied to Stavanger.
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| In the background you can see the entrance to the new power plant, cut into the rock. | Power plant machine room. The room is completely carved out of the rock, as indicated by the far wall, which is a rock monolith. |
Songesand [ | ]
Songesand is a small village on the northern shore of the fjord.
There is a land connection with Årdal (Norwegian: Årdal) and the municipality of Hjelmeland (Norwegian: Hjelmeland). The village has its own pier.
Previously, up to 36 people lived in the village, there was a post office and a school. The school finally closed in 1969. For the last few years before its final closure, only 3-4 schoolchildren were studying there.
Songesand received a new impetus for development in 1994, when ferries between Stavanger and Lysebotn began to operate regularly during the summer season.
Henyang [ | ]
The confiscated moonshine still is stored to this day. It can be seen at Øygardsstølen (Norwegian) - the starting point for climbing Kjørag.
Preikestolen [ | ]
According to an old legend, this giant cliff will collapse if 7 sisters marry 7 brothers from the same district (by district we mean one of the five unofficial regions of Norway). At the base of the site there is a crack 20-25 cm wide. If one day this rocky platform collapses into the waters of the fjord, then the split will pass precisely along this crack.
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| The sheer cliff, 604 meters high, was formerly often used by base jumpers. | Rectangular rock platform 25x25 meters. The crack at the base of the platform is clearly visible. | Until now, not a single tragic incident has been reported. |
Refsu [ | ]
A former steamship pier on the northern shore of the fjord. Today, only concrete remains can be seen here inside a small bay next to the stream flowing into the fjord. The first excursions to Preikestolen were organized back in the 1890s. The trail that all tourists use today to visit the plateau did not yet exist. It was laid through the rocky slopes a little later, at the same time passages were cut down along the rocks and handrails were made. Since it was difficult to get to Pulpit Rock by land, excursions were taken from here. A path led from Refsu to the Preikestool hut. Today, in its place there is only rusty reinforcement sticking out of the rocks.
Climbing Kjerag is only possible at certain times of the year. Until the road between the municipalities of Syrdal and Lysebotn opens in mid-May, only tourists with professional equipment and accompanied by a guide are allowed to climb Kjerag. The snow here is deep, so hikers will need skis or snowshoes. The tourist season ends in October or November when snowfalls begin.
Duration - 6-10 hours
The ascent and descent of Kjerag takes between six and ten hours, and the distance is about 11 kilometers. Make sure you are in good shape when going on this trek as you will have to climb 800 meters of elevation. In some places you will have to climb up and down, hold on to the extended rope, so this route may seem challenging even for advanced hikers. The trailhead is located near the parking lot in Øygardstøl. Check the weather forecast with your local tourism office and listen to their advice before heading out. Take special care if it is raining: the trail may be slippery.
Necessary equipment for hiking
You will need a 30-liter backpack - everything you need in the Norwegian mountains will definitely fit there. A spare set of clothes, a first aid kit, a charged cell phone and a headlamp are just some of the things we recommend packing in your backpack. At the very bottom of the page you will find a complete list of required equipment.
Suitable warm clothing
Always wear appropriate footwear - trekking boots are highly recommended. The route runs through uneven terrain, so you will have to work with your legs. Kjerag can experience heavy rainfall, so you will need waterproof and windproof clothing. Don't forget to pack a spare set of clothes in your backpack, as well as a baseball cap, gloves and a scarf.
How to get there
The ferry company in Lysebotn offers a tourist car ferry ride, and then you can take a car or taxi to Øygardstøl. By car you can reach Lysebotn via Syrdal. In summer there are buses from Stavanger to Kjerag (Øygardstøl). They depart early in the morning and return to Stavanger in the evening. Find out in more detail.
We had to travel about 240 km to the city Sandnes, where I had previously booked a hotel.
Why did I choose this city and not a larger one? Stavanger? Probably because it is located closer to the pier in Lauvvik, from where the cruise ferry departed along the fjord at 9 a.m.
And the final stop of this ferry was a place Lysebotn, from which it was very close to the second goal of my journey: Kjerag or a pea in the rocks - Kjerag.
From the Lysebotn pier, we leave and the crowd climbs 600-700 meters above sea level along the serpentine road. At the end there is parking, a restaurant and toilets.
From here people go in droves to Kjerag.
The first thing that struck me and struck me unpleasantly was the number of people walking like ants back and forth.
All this was as programmed. Walk there, climb on a rock, take a photo and come back.
Another thing that was striking, but pleasant, was the multi-level and multi-age status of the crowd.
There were teenagers, grandparents and families with children. It was like going to school. Must get there...
Well, I moved. My fellow travelers, as usual, drifted off and stayed asleep in the car.
The journey takes 2.5 hours there and 2 hours back.
You need to go through 3 ascents and 2 descents.
After yesterday, my abraded legs ached, and there was no bandage to put on.
But I decided to get up - so be it. In the end I can always turn back...
Still, well done Norwegians for finding such attractions and not building comfortable paths or escalators to them, as they would do in the USA, for their fat people.
Here the people are going up - one muscle group is swaying. Goes down - other muscles work.
During these two days I felt how pleasantly the meat began to grow. Although I can’t complain about my legs.
This is good physical training for teenagers, and strengthening of the heart muscle for old people.
This hike should generally be considered as a walk. Norwegians do this, and at the same time they walk their dogs.
But it’s another matter that we are tourists, travelers whose time is scheduled. Therefore, there is no time for contemplation here.
And somehow I didn’t want to contemplate in this constant movement.
Therefore, again I walked slowly, but also without stopping, all 3 ascents and 2 descents there and the same amount back.
After walking for 2 hours along the ups and downs, you stomp along the plateau for 30 minutes and it seems that now a platform will open behind this ridge, and there is Kjerag.
There is a large cairn in the Kjerag area.
If you go to the left from it, you will come across a crevice - the bed of a stream, which made a slingshot in the rock, in which the Kjerag stone is stuck.
What's going on here...
This is some kind of queue to the mausoleum. “Okhotny Ryad” during the hours when buses with tourists arrive...
There are a lot of people: someone is standing in line to stand on the stone, someone who has to photograph it is looking for a good position for shooting, interfering with other photographers.
I went to Kjerag.
I reached it, but I did not experience great joy.
Alas, it was a massive attraction.
I stood there for a long time and didn’t understand how I could get my photograph taken. I had to give the camera to someone there, on the other side of the stone, and stand in line myself.
I looked and looked, and then I thought – why do I need this?
Well, at first I succumbed to the herd feeling of “I need to take a photo,” but now what? There is no one to act like a hero to anyway. I'm alone here. There are people all around me who are strangers.
Therefore, I decided to use the fact that I have time to look from the outside and show how it all looks from the inside, so to speak.
Here it is, the stone:
And here is the queue for the photo shoot: “Attention! - Feat! - Free!”
http://forum.awd.ru/viewtopic.php?f=349&t=129850&p=2089139#p2089139
Norway and Vinsky are incompatible things. Maybe because I love with my soul more than with my eyes. Norway is a beautiful country. But her beauty is cold and largely repetitive. I assumed that 5 days would be enough for the trip, but I miscalculated - what I wanted to see and where I wanted to go was realized in 2 days. On the third day we could safely fly home. But in order: the basis for the trip was a very correct report from kortchak: Norway. July 2008. By rental car. It's good because it provides visuals. Moreover, this is not a monstrous accumulation of photographs, which is what many reports “shine” with, but a correct selection of thumbnails with comments. The only thing missing from the report is the names of places in the original language. Well, route maps. What I will give in my essay. Preparation stage: I didn’t prepare at all, having bought Aeroflot tickets miles to Oslo (20,000 miles in economy class). I bought bamboo and only sketched out the route a few days before departure. The trip was planned in a car rented at the airport. My travel companion, a very prudent person, booked an economy class car through some tricky websites. Herz company: 899 NOK for 5 days (rate 1 euro = 7.2 NOK).... In my searches, I didn’t find anything cheaper than 350 euros, so I agreed with the proposed option. It doesn’t matter that when checking in at Oslo airport, 2000 NOK was added to the price. The main thing is that the person takes an active part in the process. Conclusion: there is always a threaded screw for a crafty ass. There are no miracles. So: Opel Corsa TDI (turbodiesel is good on Norwegian serpentines. If you take it, then only turbodiesel) = 2800 NOK or 400 euros for 5 days. Insurance is standard. I booked two nights in hotels: 1 night - the Fossli Hotel next to the Vorigfoss waterfall. Hotel 1891, 154 euros double Target for the second day: TrollTunga or, more simply put, Troll Language 2nd night - Smarthotel Forus hotel near the departure point of the cruise ferry Lauvvika - Lysebotn, 81 euros double GPS: Latitude 58.8787, Longitude 5.7227 (N 058° 52.720, E 05° 43.361) Goal for the third day: Kjeragbolten or, more simply put, a pea stuck in the rocks That's all the preparation. As practice has shown, this is quite enough if you are going for a short time for the first acquaintance with Norway. We actually went further and changed the route on the last day to one way for a rented car: Oslo - Trondheim followed by a NorwegianAir flight to Oslo. But in fact we didn’t go that far, having lost our tickets. Here is our route for 5 days: MicroSIM card for iPhone/iPad in Norway. Mobile Internet . Upon arrival in Oslo, I bought a mini-SIM card for the iPhone from Telenor. To always have the Internet at hand. And he always was. If there was no 3G, then there was GPRS, so I posted photos and my comments on them on facebook online. Since I asked about a similar tariff and a SIM card in the “Questions about Norway” forum and did not receive any answer (apparently no one traveling to Norway had an iPhone4), I’m sharing: on the first floor of the arrivals hall, go right. There's a Mobile office there, right after the Rent Car offices. MicroSIM and the Kort&Kontakt “unlimited internet” tariff cost me 299 NOK. The seller said that the tariff includes 200M, after spending which there will be unlimited traffic for 5 days. I uploaded photos on Facebook, VKontakte, I constantly chatted on Skype, I surfed news and booking sites. I even looked into a Norwegian dictionary. Everything worked great. I recommend it if your business is online. We got into the car. We turned on the navigation to the Fossli Hotel and drove off. The first day we had to travel 340 km. Along the way, several times we came across cameras that the navigation beeped to warn us about. The speed limit is 80 km/h. Norwegian drivers, like the surrounding nature, are harsh and slow. In Moscow they say about such people: “the brake”... In the end, I didn’t stand on ceremony with them much and overtook, overtook, overtook... The roads are mostly narrow, with closed turns. But the markings are always intermittent. There are also two broken marking lines side by side, perhaps this is the Norwegian analogue of the Russian solid one. I didn’t pay attention to the markings, trusting my eye and turbocharging. Several times along the way, the instinct of a mushroom picker and berry picker was triggered. Then the car squealed on the brakes and after a few minutes it was possible to pick a handful of large wild strawberries or wild raspberries. Or a basket of porcini mushrooms. It's surprising that no one collects this. I read somewhere that Norwegians despise mushroom picking and do not eat them at all, preferring to export champignons from the ubiquitous Holland. What an asshole, what else can I say... Pasta with porcini mushrooms or soup... mmmm The landscape that flashed along our path gradually changed from herbs, wildflowers, pine and birch trees, to dwarf vegetation and mosses. We drove into the tundra, dotted with numerous lenses of lakes. Here and there along the road and at a distance from it, pyramids made of stones appeared. We wondered what this was for. I remembered the military campaigns of Tamerlane, my companions spoke much more interestingly: these are landmarks for the Norwegian spatial orientation system (GLONAS in Norwegian), this is also a shelter from the sun for trolls. .. We stopped along the way to get something to eat. Small town. Cafe. Let's go in. Dear mother! I have never seen such prices for hamburgers: 10 euros for two buns and a defrosted cutlet between them. However, you need to eat something. I took lasagna heated in the microwave with a whole pack of bread to go with it + beer. The cost of this snack could be compared with the cost of a good lunch in an average Moscow restaurant. Having picked at the hot mass that had spread over the plate with a fork, I noticed a fairly large number of people with black skin passing by and smiling cheerfully. This is the thing that is in front of me now - just right. We arrived at the Fossli hotel around 6 o'clock. The waterfall, noisy a few meters from the hotel, was nothing special to remember. Oh yes, I forgot to say that after seeing the waterfalls in South America and South Africa, all the Norwegian waterfalls, of which I suspect there are a great many in the country, will look modest. Well, let him make noise - let him make noise. A little about the hotel. I can recommend him. Very simple, with polite and responsive staff. A good restaurant that can cook venison (if available) or lamb for dinner. The salmon with the cream sauce is a little dry, but the salmon soup is just fine. The hotel is old, but the plumbing is normal. Possibly poor sound insulation, but I slept like a log the first night. Tomorrow was Language. Troll tongue. The first point of my 3-point program Day two: Fossli - Tyssedal - Skjeggedal - Trolltunga - Stavanger - Sandnes Reading Kortchak’s report, I abandoned the initial ascent on foot along the stairs of the funicular, which was not working in the morning, as an unnecessary event. Why force yourself, especially since I was not traveling alone, but with me there was a married couple who clearly did not want to climb anywhere on foot. So we got up for breakfast and slowly tasted what the Norwegian cook had sent us. The combination of crispy pickled cucumbers and lightly salted Norwegian herring seemed interesting. True, the morning didn’t go well with the herring. Morning for me means a cup of cappuccino and pastries (bagel or cheesecakes)... But we are in Norway, we need to get used to the local rhythm of life. The road to Tyssedal is interesting because of the tunnel that starts almost from the threshold of the hotel and corkscrews down into the depths of the mountain, and after the tunnels we go out to the fjord and there is scope for photography. Very nice for the first time. You can also swim and buy cherries from local peasants at the strange price of 900 rubles per kilogram, despite the fact that there is no logistics here - here they are orchards with cherries growing along the coastline. In my opinion, even our Uzbeks at the beginning of the season don’t get so impudent. The route to the intermediate point is 100 km. The place is called Skjeggedal. It's a two, two and a half hour drive. Finding Skjeggedal is easy: when you drive into the town of Tyssedal, which is located on the shore of a fjord between two tunnels, look for a gas station. In front of it there will be a turn to the left and then along a narrow serpentine (the serpentine is such that two cars cannot pass each other, so someone has to back away) up to the hydroelectric power station. This is the gateway to Trolltunga. This is where Norway's oldest funicular railway is located. This is where the interesting part of the trip begins. Let's start with the fact that the funicular is no longer working. Neither on demand nor without demand. There is an announcement about this on the information board, with the phone number of the manager in charge of this venerable unit. They called. The woman answered. - No, I won’t turn on the funicular. We no longer use it to lift tourists up. Go upstairs on foot. That's the whole story of the charming, I have no doubt, Norwegian woman. It's good for you to say so. What if someone’s heart stops or their head starts spinning along the way? However, this does not concern the Norwegians. On the one hand, they are right: thereby they relieve themselves of any responsibility for the lives of tourists climbing the mountain to the language; they filter at the first stage the number of people who want to take a photo of themselves in the language, thereby raising the significance of this achievement: reaching the language. So my companions, having walked along the steps of the funicular for several tens of meters, left the race. By the way, walking up the steps is prohibited. There is a path in the forest along the cable car branch. The trail is very unpleasant. I went down it. And now I, taking a bottle of water and a camera with me, am scratching up the sleepers. Like in the song: “And I’m walking along the sleepers and I’m walking along the sleepers. Home out of habit...” So I’m walking and humming to myself. The sun is hot, sweat streams down your forehead and then runs down your cheeks in a stream and drips down. At first I counted the steps, then I gave up. I amuse myself at stops to catch my breath by taking pictures of myself with my iPhone, balancing on the steps, risking fucking backwards and rolling down at the speed of a courier train, and sending the photo to Facebook. At one of my stops I see that the path comes out of the forest and crosses the funicular line from below. I notice two young blondes. Hello girls! Where are you going? On Trolltunga? I'm going there too! Let's see who's faster. The girls wave back and disappear behind the trees without stopping talking among themselves in a language unknown to me. Subsequently it turns out to be Dutch. When I finally reach the top, I look tired. But this is all bullshit: if I want, I can always come back.... This inner conviction, I then repeat throughout the entire 4-hour hike, slowly and quickly moving towards the goal. I move non-stop, photographing everything in my path. At first the road is a road - a wide path through a flat plateau on which Norwegian houses stand. I don’t understand what they are doing here in the wilderness. Perhaps they go to tongue every day. Or maybe they fish from small lakes. Here are photos of this place and further along the way. In the second photo you can see that the girls from Holland are on my tail. After the plateau comes the first climb. How many more of them will be on my way, but this damn thing almost knocked me down: stepping on a loose stone with my sneaker, I slightly pulled the tendon on my ankle. Now I walk slower and take care of my left leg. On top of that, I’m not wearing socks, but fashionable moccasin tracks. The back of the sneaker crawls across the bare skin, slowly rubbing the callus. I don’t remember now, but some song stuck with me. I go and sing it mentally. The water has run out, but there are streams. There are many of them and you can drink water from them. I fill a bottle with water from a small waterfall-stream and move on. You know what? I completely forgot that I was walking for a long time, so I only have 3 cigarettes. I make a wish that if I get to the Language, the first thing I will do is light a delicious cigarette. I've been wanting to smoke for about an hour now. I've been walking for an hour and a half now. I overtake some strange woman with a large backpack. She stood and looked at the printout in her hands and looked at the sign where the word Trolltunga was not there. She was confused. Well, I know where to go thanks to the photographs from Korczak’s report. - Are you on Trolltunga? The woman says nothing and moves away from me. Just in case, I turn on the camera on my phone and look at myself from the outside. Yes, I seem to look fine. The truth is frivolous: a bottle in one hand, a camera in the other. No trekking boots, no backpack... Oh well. I move on, humming and waving my bottle. After all, if it becomes unbearable, I can always return... Descent to the plateau. Here it is, a house in the middle of the plateau. I recognize it as if I had already been here. The road here is not so difficult and I take a break from the previous ascent and descent. I'm walking on a flat surface. Everything is fine. The sun is shining. There is a mountain range ahead and there (I know where) the troll’s tongue. The plateau is over. Rising again. Several people come across me. We say hello and leave. Now I remember my trek the next day to the pea - people there on the road did not say hello. And it's good here. A few people. Space. And the air! What delicious air is here! The sight of yesterday’s lamb flashes through my head, I swallow my saliva and realize that I’m hungry. And strongly. I try not to think about food anymore, drink water more often and move on. The view before me is depressing. I see where the tongue is. Here he is, opposite me. But you can’t go in a straight line - there’s a 200-meter cliff and the fjord water is green below. You have to go around. Through two ridges. That is, 2 ascents and 2 descents. But I think to myself: if something happens, I can always turn back... And I continue to walk forward through fields of mountain flowers, through small swamps created by meltwater flowing from the mountains. I jump from stone to stone, taking care of my left leg. The main thing is that it doesn’t swell tomorrow. And today I will need it to go back. More and more people come my way. We say hello and I pass by. I think how they feel when they go back and what it’s like to already see and meet someone who hasn’t seen yet. They probably think that the green new fish is running towards the tongue, afraid of not making it in time... Somehow imperceptibly, with a song, I pass two ridges, pass by the dam that holds the water of the lake and reach the finish line. Impatience is growing. So when? When? What is he like? And so, somehow casually and usually, I go out to Trolltunga. Here he is, handsome: He is amazingly handsome. Real troll language. Very similar. It sticks out of the rock and under it there are several hundred meters of emptiness, and from it there is such a stunning view of the fjord. I ask the man sitting in a daze to take photographs of the tongue with me. You need to record your feat. I ask and throw the empty bottle and jacket and run to the tongue. 4 metal staples to go down to the base, a small run along the tongue and I get into the pose of a distance conqueror. Then I lie down and crawl to the edge. Holy shit. Everything inside is shaking with fear - I’ve been afraid of heights since childhood. For a while I freeze, lying on my stomach, then I begin to slowly crawl away from the edge. The grandfather and grandmother sitting opposite on the rock burst into laughter. They sit as if in the stalls. They have the most expensive tickets. I also find it funny and generally completely delighted. I run away from the language, take the camera and look at the pictures. Not this way. Not this way. I take aim. I'm looking for shooting position and zoom. Please take photos with me again. Run to the tongue again. I don’t understand why I run like this. So much energy came from somewhere. I want to stand on my head or walk on my tongue with my hands. At this very moment girls from Holland come. We must give way to them. I was surprised looking at them - they also walked without stopping, constantly chatting among themselves - I heard their voices behind me and this was another incentive to move forward. The girls were brave - they immediately went to the edge of their tongues and asked to take a photo of them. My Italian photographer immediately began to fuss and ran to click on them, ahead of me, well, I’m not at a loss - I’m shooting the whole trio from a different angle, then the Italian himself with his and my camera. Everything inside me is boiling and rejoicing. I'm here! A week ago I saw this in pictures on the Internet. And now HERE and NOW. How cool! It’s so good in the soul.... Everything inside rejoices and sings... I highly recommend it. Very. The best place. And apparently the energy here is special. Just rushing. It was time to go back. I walked away and looked back at the tongue until it was out of sight. The way back was under the impression of the experience. I was humming something to myself again. Well, some melody sticks and spins and spins in your head...
