The Lysefjord / Preikestolen / Kjerag

Preikestolen (or, “Priest´s Pulpit”) is a very famous, popular hike in Rogaland. It´s a steep hike up boulders to the top of a rock mountain that shoots straight down to the Lysefjord below. Dramatic to say the least!

My friends Elizabeth and Anthony just hiked Preikestolen last weekend. You must go and see her travelogue of the experience! It’s true that it’s a rocky, somewhat difficult path, and that people are going fast and trying to pass all the time. I didn’t agree about it not being impressive though; it was bigger and more exciting than I had expected!

Here are a few pics of K and me from our hike up Preikestolen in 2006. Jostein took us while we were visiting from Brussels. I had no idea what I was in store for!

I was not a huge fan of the rocky trail!

Lots of people on this trail were faster than I was.

So sometimes we would stop and let them go by. More often than not, it was a 4 year old in flip flops cruising on past me!

I think we will end up going on Monday, 9 June, in order to avoid the weekend crowds. That will be a nice way to say adieu to your jet lag!

Here we are finally at the top!

The text below is adapted from an article on Stavanger from the Observer newspaper and the planetware website.

The Lysefjord

To the east of Stavanger, beyond the Høgsfjord, lies the Lysefjord, a cleft in the mountains 37km/23mi long, up to 2km/1.25mi wide and up to 457m/1,500ft deep, with bright green water. The fjord is enclosed by sheer walls of rock rising to above 1,000m/3,300ft.

One of the most popular activities is walking up to Kjerag or Preikestolen for jaw-dropping views of the Lysefjord, one of the most beautiful landscapes in Norway. Of the more southerly fjords in Norway, this is considered by many to be the most beautiful. It’s one of the deepest and the granite rocks that rise out of it are extremely pleasing in their variety of formation and colour. Even the journey by boat fromStavanger is spectacular, passing towering islands and water-side villages on the way. Two landmarks of the fjord are the pulpit rock (Preiksestolen)– a huge slab that overhangs the fjord from way above and from where the view is legendary – and the Kjerag Mountain at the end of the fjord. With the gushing waterfalls and the dramatic Nordic light this will be a trip to remember.

This is Kjerag here–>

I’m just imagining mom standing there…

Please look at this webpage for a great overview of area day trips.