How High?!?!

It really is a shame how little we have seen of this beautiful country after 2 1/2 years here.

We did manage to expand our horizons this past weekend. We have now explored a good bit more of at least the southern part of the country.

As we made our way to Stavanger last Friday, we stopped about an hour outside of the city to experience one of the more iconic hikes in the area.

Preikestolen - or Pulpit Rock - is something I'd seen in pictures before moving here. But pictures pale in comparison to the reality.

Standing nearly 2000 feet / 600 meters above the Lysefjord, this rock formation is impressive... and a bit scary!

Preikestolen / Pulpit Rock 

 It took us just under 2 hours to make the walk to the top. And it was amazing.

We highly recommend this hike!

Here is a video from our weekend in Stavanger. The first 6-7 minutes will give you a glimpse of our Preikestolen experience.

Tips for Preikestolen:

• Wear good shoes. While the path is fairly wide, it is also very rocky. Careful measures have been taken to ensure that all the foot traffic (200,000+ visitors annually) don't destroy the area.
• Take water with you. And pack a lunch. There is no hytte/kiosk/snack bar at the top. We took a couple of Camelback-style backpacks, several packs of nuts, and sandwiches. There are quite a few spots along the way where you can stop and rest when needed.
• Start early, or start later in the day. Mid-day hikes mean more traffic, and more of a queue. We arrived just after 2:00 and the majority of the traffic we encountered was from people descending the mountain. We also went on a weekday, thinking that weekends might be more crowded.
• Most of the websites suggest hiking from April to October. Otherwise, you might encounter some additional weather challenges.
• You can read more on Visit Norway's Preikestolen page.