Sightseeing in Norway: Hike to Trolltunga - Vikingess Voyages

Friday, August 30, 2013

Sightseeing in Norway: Hike to Trolltunga

Trolltunga (The Troll’s Tongue Rock) is an amazing tourist destination which deserves a spot on any 10-places-to-visit-before-you-die list and can thus also be described as a natural must-see destination for visitors to Norway. The place is situated a couple of hours from Norway’s second largest city Bergen and the hiking outset in Skjeggedal is reachable by car, or by bus during the tourist season.
Although it is a great sight it is certainly not a destination for anyone though, as you have to calculate a 4-5 hour hike just to get there. Add that you have to stand in line if you want to test if you’re brave enough for a walk on the edge of the horizontally stretched rock, and the roundtrip up and down the mountains might take you anything between 8-10 hours in total. Whatever you do, remember to bring good shoes..
Climbing the first mountain on our way to Trolltunga
Our hiking team consisted of me, my mother, my boyfriend Yuma and my American friend and travel buddy Adaora. We were all totally psyched about visiting the Troll's Tongue Rock, and were pretty ready for the long hike that awaited us.
Our hiking team!

When that is said, I have to mention that as Norway is a really mountainous country with a small population a lot of people grow up close to nature in an environment where it is quite common with outdoor activities such as hiking in the mountains. That is why our dear friends from Denmark (a land known to be as flat as a pancake) like to refer to us Norwegians as “Fjellaber” (mountain monkeys) from time to time. To put it simple: Not all of us had the same suitable background for mountain climbing, which made parts of the hike go extremely slow. On the other hand, having a will of steel is also a rather practical ability, and this meant that we were still able to reach the famous rock surprisingly fast. The whole hike took 9 hours in total, which included a large number of photo breaks and of course some 15-30 minutes waiting to get our photos taken at Trolltunga.
A sign showing the road to Trolltunga
Although parts of the hike proceeded very slowly this meant that some of us had a lot of time to enjoy the view and eat berries on the way. Norway has a lot of wild edible berries such as blueberries and cloudberries in the mountain, so my mother and I spent some time gathering 
berries on the way. This earned us a new nickname too: “berry pickers”. Haha..
Picking blueberries along the way
Just climbing a tree for fun :)
T stands for tur (from tour, meaning trip), and shows you the path you have to follow
A big rock Yuma climbed on the way
Trolltunga is not the only place you can see beautiful nature during the hike
Panoramic view of the fjord
Relaxing
Another T-sign
Adaora going nuts ;)
The view from Trolltunga was absolutely amazing (I have always been traveling more abroad than within my own country, so for me it was a very unique experience) but there were also a lot of great views on the way there too. We passed through a variety of different landscapes, which made me think of my 3-day trekking trip to La Cumbre to Coroico in Bolivia a couple of years ago. The difference in temperature was also quite big, and we should probably have brought warmer clothes than we did. Especially standing in the bitter wind waiting for the chance to take photos on Trolltunga was a rather cold experience.


Waiting for the chance to stand on Trolltunga!  
Sitting on the very edge of the rock

On Trolltunga again, with me being held up by my bf.. :)
Relaxing on the way back
A map of the area with some hiking routes
We had a long and tiring but amazing and unique day hiking to Trolltunga. If you want to see the unique landscape Norway has to offer then a trip to Trolltunga is truly a must..
Next time I come home to Norway I hope I get the chance to check out Prekestolen (the even more famous Pulpit Rock) and Kjerag, I'm sure those are really interesting hikes too! It apparently takes around half the time to hike to Prekestolen, so for those who want a lighter alternative to Trolltunga is probably better. On the other hand, the "easy" access and the fact that Prekestolen is more famous means that you have to expect a larger number of tourists there..
Oh well, that's all for now. I'll be back with some more delayed posts about my trip to Norway soon! Ciao! :)



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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.

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Adventures ofAnette


A modern day shield-maiden who loves to explore the unbeaten paths of the world. From her base in Tokyo, Anette takes on both rural and urban challenges, and goes by the motto "No challenge too big, no adventure too small"!
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