The early bird has Kjeragbolten to himself - and what more could you want?
A super nice varied hike with pretty much the coolest rock formation you can imagine. The Kjeragbolten in Norway is a granite wedge about 5 square metres in size, stuck between two walls plunging almost 1000 metres into the Lysefjord. Anyone who stands on the unsecured "Bolten" must be absolutely free of vertigo.
♡-Factor: ♡♡♡♡♡
Difficulty: difficult
Walking time: 4h
Altitude difference: 730Hm
Length: 9km
Accessible by public transport: no
Hut on the trail: Øygardsstølen Restaurant is at the starting point of the hike.
Best time: Mid-May to October
Starting point: Øygardsstølen Restaurant (640Hm) on road 500 in the east of Ryfylke municipality. Paid parking.
Click on the first picture to start the photo gallery:
Route:
Right at the beginning of the route, you can check whether you are technically up to the task - directly from the car park, the hiking trail marked with a red T leads up the mountain over steep granite slabs. Some passages are secured, but in wet weather it is still a slippery affair.
After a first steep climb, you descend into a valley lined with wooden planks to reach the Storedalen valley via a second ridge. The third ascent leads to the rock plateau, which is now flatter and well marked by cairns to Kjeragbolten. This is not so easy to find, as it is not visible from the trail.
A narrow gap leads from the hiking trail to the right towards the fjord and then there it is, the rock sphere between the steep walls, which base jumpers and climbers also appreciate. To climb the Bolten for a photo, it has to be absolutely dry, because from here it goes unprotected 1000 metres down.
A beautiful, hardly walked alternative is the way back through the Storedalen valley.
To do this, climb back up from the saddle to the hiking trail, but cross it and continue up the mountain towards Langavatn (signposted). As soon as the valley with Lake Storedalen and a waterfall opens up on the left, a second hiking trail marked with a red T leads down into it over granite slabs. The path leads along the lake until it meets the familiar route again at its end. Again, get up early if you don't want to stand in line. Besides, the sun shines on Kjeragbolten in the morning.
The best hotel in the world: our van!
Info:
Literature
In the Rother hiking guide: Bernhard Pollmann, Norway - South, quite a few beautiful hikes are described. This one to Preikestolen as well.
How to get there:
By own vehicle with the ferry from Hirtshals/Denmark to Kristiansand/Norway. 2h15 journey time, directferries.de. By plane with one change to either Stavanger or Bergen. From there, continue by public transport or rental car. From 1 July to 31.8 there is an express bus between the starting points for the hikes to Preikastolen and Trolltunga, gofjords.com.