Are you looking to experience one of the most iconic places in Norway? Well, then hiking Trolltunga is definitely something that you'll want to add to your bucket list. This unique rock jutting out over the fjords has stirred the internet the past few years with its wildly breathtaking views, and terrifying photo ops.
After hiking all around the Lofoten Islands, we figured we would just look up where it is, and how long the hike to Trolltunga is. Little did we know that there is actually a ton to know in order to visit! As one of the most sought after activities in the country, this isn't some quick (or cheap) activity to throw into your schedule, but requires a bit of planning and power on your part.
We didn't find so much helpful information across the Internet, and were quite shocked by things when we arrived. That's why we decided to provide you a complete guide for hiking Trolltunga, so that you can be fully prepared to experience Norway's most epic viewpoint.
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A Little Intro to Trolltunga, Norway
Before talking about the hike to Trolltunga, we want to explain a few things about this unique landscape.
🤔 Why is it Called Trolltunga?
Trolltunga in Norwegian translates to the "Troll's Tongue". The reason for this name is believed to originate from an old tale.
The tale said that a cocky troll believed that he wouldn't turn to stone when the sun shined on him. The troll would mock the sun by sticking his tongue out, which is where the unique formation of Trolltunga was thought to come from.
Trolltunga is in the shape of a troll's tongue.
📍 Where is Trolltunga?
Trolltunga sits above Lake Ringedalsvatnet, which is located in southern Norway.
🏘 What is the Closest City to Trolltunga?
The closest city to Trolltunga is Odda, which is in Hardanger. It is about 11 miles (17 km) west of the trail for hiking Trolltunga.
✈️ What is the Closest Airport to Trolltunga?
While Odda is the closest city to Trolltunga, there is no airport in Odda. The closest airport to Trolltunga is Haugesund (HAU), which is 156 km away, and takes around 3 hours in car to get to Trolltunga.
The next closest option is Bergen, which is a much more common airport to fly into. Bergen is located 160 km away, and takes about 3 1/2 hours to drive to Trolltunga.
The next biggest airport in the area is Stavanger, which is 217 km, and takes 4 1/2 hours to drive to. Finally, if flights tend to be too expensive, you could opt to fly straight to Oslo, and then rent a car there, which is exactly what we did (we made a whole road trip out of it).
Trolltunga is located in southern Norway.
How to Get to the Trolltunga Hike
The first step to getting you to the Trolltunga hike, is deciding which airport that you are going to fly into. The different airports that you can choose from are Haugesund, Bergen, Stavanger, and Oslo.
So how do you choose exactly which route to take? The answer really lies within your other plans for your trip. We decided to road trip southern Norway for a full week, so flew in Oslo, and decided to rent a car from the Oslo airport.
Keep in mind that there are two airports in Oslo, and one of them is very far! So check the airport before booking your rental.
Stavanger and Bergen are both beautiful cities with a ton of other great things to do around the area, so our suggestion is to check which airport is the cheapest to fly into (or which one works better with their flight times).
Flight Tip: Using Skyscanner you can put from "your city" to "Norway". This way you can see which is the cheapest airport in the area to fly to. Also, you can check the calendar to see which are the cheapest dates for each place!
Search for a flight to an airport near Trolltunga:
How Do I Get From Bergen to Trolltunga?
If you happen to fly into Bergen, you can either rent a car, or you can take the bus 930 from the Bergen bus station to Odda.
How Do I Get From Stavanger to Trolltunga?
In order to get to Trolltunga from Stavanger you can either take a ferry, and then a bus, or rent a car. We honestly think renting a car from Stavanger to Trolltunga is a better option, as taking the ferry and bus can add up to over 6 hours.
If you do want to go by public transportation though, you'll have to take a bus to Mortavika, and then get the ferry from Arsvagen. From Arsvagen you will then have to take a bus to Odda.
🚗 Can I Drive Up to Trolltunga?
You cannot drive up to Trolltunga. The only way to get there is by hiking Trolltunga.
There are four different options for getting to the trail head, so it can be quite confusing!
🅿️ Parking at Trolltunga
There are various options with different parking lots, and shuttles that you can take. Here is the breakdown for parking at Trolltunga.
Parking at P3
P3 is the closest that you can get to the trail of hiking Trolltunga, and definitely the easiest option (it is right next to the trailhead). However, P3 is the most expensive to park at, and only has a limited number of spots.
P3 is best for those that are coming in a group, as with a group it lowers the cost overall, and you won't need to worry about taking the shuttle. The shuttle is a per/person charge, and can really add up if you are multiple people. (Don't worry we will explain this more next).
The price for parking at p3 is 900 NOK for one night, and this is only until midnight. If you are planning on camping, you will actually have to pay for two nights. (It isn't 900 for the second night, but it is still several hundred - we unfortunately didn't get these exact details).
The price is per car, not per person. There are only 30 spots in this lot, so it is crucial that you book in advance.
Parking at P2
Parking 2 is where the majority of people park, as it is much cheaper than p3. There are 180 sp0ts, and it comes on a first come, first serve basis. The price is 500 NOK for one day, and 200 NOK for the second day. As we camped, we ended up paying 700 NOK for our car to be parked in P2.
At P2 you then have the choice of walking to P3 (where the trail starts), or taking the shuttle to P3. The shuttle is 150 NOK per person to go up, and 100 NOK to come down. The shuttle runs from 6:30 am to 6:45 pm. Below you can see the full schedule of when the shuttle runs both up and down.
If you get there outside operating hours, or want to save a little bit of money, then you can walk up the paved road, which is 4km, and takes between an hour to an hour and a half extra.
The walk between P2 and P3 is 4 km along a paved road.
Parking at P1
P1 is located at Tyssedal, which is 5 1/2 km up the road from P2, and is the first one you'll pass coming from Odda.
One day of parking in P1 is 300 NOK, 2 days is 500 NOK, and 2 days is 700 NOK in total. From P1 you can take a shuttle that comes from Odda (stopping at P1 to go to P2) for 100 NOK, or walk the 5 1/2 km extra (which we definitely do not recommend).
Parking in Odda
If you plan on spending the night in Odda, are taking public transportation, or are alone and want to save some money, then this would be a potential option. There are buses that go from Odda to P2 for 200 NOK one way, or 350 NOK roundtrip, and then you could choose to hike from P2 to P3, or to pay for the second shuttle.
Below you can see the timetable for the shuttle that goes from Odda to Trolltunga:
There is also the option to use Odda Taxi, which is 700 NOK each way. This option would be idea if you either have a group, or if you would like to set up a time outside what the bus offers.
The final option (which we would NOT recommend, is to hike the entire way from Odda to the trailhead.
This would tack on an extra 16 km to the trip, so would really only be something we would see someone doing if they are on a very tight budget. (In total you would end up walking 26 km each way). Alternatively, you could try to hitchhike from Odda to P2, but we aren't sure how common this is really.
Hiking Trolltunga
Alright, now that you have successfully made your way to the start of the trailhead, let's talk about the most important part- the hike itself!
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⏳ How Long Does it Take to Walk Up Trolltunga?
From the start of the trailhead to the famous Troll's tongue formation is 10 km in total. The time it takes hiking Trolltunga varies greatly from person to person, but we are going to share what the information boards say, as well as how long it took us to complete.
The website and info centers suggest that hiking Trolltunga takes between 8 and 12 hours. Luckily, if you are in decent shape like us, it won't take you anywhere near that!
We were honestly dreading this hike, because we expected to be hiking much longer than we ended up hiking. It took us 3 hours and 20 minutes to get up, and 2 hours and 40 minutes to get down. We took breaks for eating and dunking our heads in the water, so truthfully it did take us longer than 6 hours.
🥾 Hiking Trolltunga: What to Expect
Coming from the Lofoten Islands, we got pretty used to the short and steep hikes up there. However, the hikes in the south of Norway are much longer, but not nearly as steep.
The beginning of the hike started off a little steep, and had a series of small bridges, stairs, and large rocks you'll be climbing. The first 45 minutes of the hike were the worst for us. But don't worry- it does get better!
The beginning of the hike starts out with a lot of stones, bridges, and steep areas.
After the massive uphill stone area, you'll find natural pools, and things will start to level out a bit. You'll continue through different areas where you'll need to hop along rocks along streams, as well as walking through areas of snow (depending on when exactly you are visiting).
We were there in mid-June, and we still had areas where we needed to walk through the snow. Make sure to walk carefully, as these areas can be quite slippery.
There can be a lot of snow while hiking Trolltunga if you are early in the season.
Once you reach the shelter (cabin) shown below, you are almost there! You'll have just 5-10 minutes left of hiking Trolltunga!
Right before arriving at Trolltunga you will find a shelter cabin.
🖼 Hiking Trolltunga: The Views and the Pictures
You know how they say it's about the journey not the destination? Well, sorry to say but that certainly isn't the case for hiking Trolltunga.
We found the hike to be quite boring in parts, and we couldn't wait to just get to the end! But the view is honestly worth all of the hours and money put in, and getting the perfect picture is certainly going to be your ultimate souvenir from hiking Trolltunga.
We arrived at the top around 10:00 pm, and there were just a few other people at the top. This made it seamless for getting the content we wanted, as we could play with different angles, take videos on our phones, and use our drone. If you plan on visiting during the day, a task like this will certainly be a little challenging.
Camera shot vs drone shot at Trolltunga
🤳🏻 The Line to Take a Picture at Trolltunga
Unless you plan on getting to the top of Trolltunga extremely early or super late, chances are you will have a line.
We have heard of people spending a full 1-2 hours just waiting to get their shot! Honestly, we feel like it takes away a bit from the magic, and certainly makes it a bit more stressful if you're looking for the perfect picture.
If you visit during the day, you will start to see crowds and long lines for taking pictures.
📸 How to Take the Perfect Picture at Trolltunga
There are a number of angles that you can play with while capturing Trolltunga. The most common one that you will see is from the side of the mountain, which is right across from the rock itself. It feels completely safe to stand there. and we simply set our tripod up and kept it on interval so that it could keep shooting. You could also ask one of the other many people around, but you won't be guaranteed a great shot.
Another fun angle is to actually take a photo from a bit lower down. You can achieve this by climbing down the rocks at the corner where most people take their pictures. If you see the photo below, this is similar to the shot you can get. However, we were a bit scared of the climb, as it looked extremely risky, so we opted to fly our drone over to the same area instead.
When it comes to lighting, sunset is the most ideal time to take a photo, as you can see it setting across the fjord. We just missed the sunset when we got to the top, as it went behind the mountain just before we got there (probably 30-60 minutes before the actual time of the sunset). The coloring would also be stunning during sunrise, but opted to take our photos the night before.
Our favorite time to shoot at Trolltunga was during sunset.
🚶🏻♀️ Hiking Back from Trolltunga
As soon as we were leaving Trolltunga, we started to see more and more people finishing their hike. We walked the first hour, until we reached the picnic benches on the side of the trail. This was where we stopped to have a sandwich, and enjoy the views.
On the way back there are picnic tables you can stop at.
Right after, we noticed that there was a large grassy area below with a picnic table overlooking the gorge, as well as a giant waterfall going right into the gorge! People were relaxing in the grass, and cooling off in the stream leading to the waterfall, making this a great stop along the trail.
Make sure to stop and enjoy the views of the gorge!
We walked another hour until we reached big pools where a few people were hanging out, and we decided to take a dip (it was extremely hot at this point in the middle of the day).
The final 40 minutes of the hike were very steep and slippery from the dirt, so just remember to watch your feet, and not go too fast, as it can be pretty harsh on your knees.
There are a bunch of natural pools at Trolltunga where you can cool off in.
🏁 Getting from the Start of the Trail Back to P2
As soon as we were arriving to the start of the trail, we realized that the shuttles were not running (they take a few hour lunch break and don't run for a couple of hours).
We didn't want to wait, and as it is a downhill walk along the road, we decided to skip paying the 100 NOK each for the shuttle, and walked the 4 km. The walk was super easy, and took about 40 minutes to complete.
Remember to keep the lunch break in mind!
⌛️ Breakdown of Time Spent at Trolltunga
6:00 pm - 6:45 pm parked, used the bathroom, got info, and paid for parking
6:45 pm - 6:50 pm took the shuttle to P2 and started the hike
6:50 pm - 10:30 pm hiking Trolltunga (2 breaks of 10 minutes - 3 hours and 20 minutes hiking)
10:30 pm - 11:30 pm took photos and enjoyed the views
11:30 pm - midnight had dinner and set up the tent
midnight - 8 am slept
8:00 am - 9:00 am had breakfast and packed up
9:00 am - 9:30 am took a few more photos
9:30 am - 10:30 am hiked to the picnic benches
10:30 am - 11:30 am had lunch and went down to see the waterfall
11:30 am - 12:50 pm hiked the rest of the trail
12:50 pm - 1:30 pm walked from the start of the trail to P2
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm chatted with people, used the bathroom, and packed the car
Time hiking Trolltunga: 6 hours
Total time at Trolltunga: 20 hours
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Amenities at Trolltunga
As hiking Trolltunga is no small feat, it's important to know the amenities around!
🚽 What Amenities Can You Find at Trolltunga?
Unfortunately, there are no toilets, water fountains, trash cans, or kiosks along the trail, so it's important to be fully prepared before you start hiking Trolltunga.
P2 is where you can find toilets, a cafe, and souvenir shop, if you'd like to get hiking sticks, water, snacks, or any other gear that you may have forgot.
If you need to go to the bathroom along the trail, you'll have to hide, dig a hole, and take any toilet paper with you along the way, which means it's not too pleasant if you have your period or need to go number 2.
P2 is where you can find a shop, info center, and cafe before hiking Trolltunga.
💧 Can You Drink Water From Trolltunga?
Along the trail you'll actually find several waterfalls, rivers, and streams. The water is perfectly safe to drink, so you can refill your water bottle along the way. We also brought a Steripen with us just as an extra precaution.
