Preikestolen – route, views and a million people ;)

Preikestolen has been on my list for years – finally in May during a long weekend we went to the Stavanger area to explore the city and climb the famous stone platform.

I will describe the route here – because looking for information myself – I found many different opinions about the difficulty of this route. Some said it was easy, others said it was extremely difficult.

1. You reach the parking at Preikestolen Base Camp – easy to find on google maps. There are two car parks – the main one at the very bottom and the one located earlier – on the right side among the trees. Both cost the same – 250 KR per day. I definitely recommend the main one – located at the very bottom, because there you will find a (nice) toilet, souvenir shop, coffe shop and information.
2. The route to Preikestolen is a distance of about 4 km one way. Time one way between 2 hours for people without any physical preparation and about 1 hour – for people who love mountain trips.
3. Initially, the ascent is a bit steep, first a short section of gravel road, which turns into stone stairs over time. This part of the route is demanding. The stone steps are wide enough for two people, though sometimes narrow. This is an important section for people who have knee problems – they will feel them especially when going down on the way back. After passing this section, further ascents are not so steep, the route also runs along flat sections with special wide footbridges and slight elevations, almost all the time up.
4. There are two places on the route that can cause trouble for people with fear of heights – one is located next to the built platforms – there the footbridge is about 1.5 meters wide and you can see the abyss, the other basically at the very top – one wide stone that needs to be crossed to continue to Preikestolen.
   This is important information for people with a fear of heights – I saw people who had to turn back in the middle of the route because it was not possible for them to cross such a narrow route 🙁 and also the last 200 meters to Preikestolen leads next to a steep edge.

The first time – we start at approx. 11, we were at the top around 12.20. I think everyone had the same plan for this trip because there were a million people on the mountain! Ha, ha 😉
And note:

• don’t go to the edge when you have balance problems,
• don’t go to the edge when there are a lot of people and you don’t have anyone to protect you – you can accidentally be pushed or fall!
• take care of yourself and take care of others,
• get in line for a photo – then there is enough space to feel comfortable at the edge,
• don’t push around
• I never go to the edge standing up! First I sit down and move to the edge in a seated position! I get up the same way – first I go back to sitting, then I get up!

I believe that this is a route for everyone, but you should remember about good footwear – preferably hills or with an terrain sole, then your feet will not be so tired.
The road is well marked, there are signposts and stakes indicating the distance.

Together with my Son we went to Preikestolen again – two days later (20.05) because I wasn’t satisfied with the photos 😉 The second time we went around 18.00, we were there at 19.00 – the Sun was behind us, the sky was beautiful, and there were few people! Perfectly! (photos with blue sky) 😉

I wish you all a very nice and safe trip!

ps. Always be careful – it’s not worth dying for a nice photo – when I take pictures over the abyss – I never stand – I’m lying down, then I hold my phone steady and I feel safe!