The Hike to Kjeragbolten: One of Norway’s Most Epic Photo Spots
Would you stand on a boulder wedged between two boulders? Well, the hike to Kjeragbolten in Norway drives people around the world crazy for its very controversial photo opportunity.
This Instagrammable spot is definitely not for the faint of heart, but is truly one of the most stunning spots in the country. Would you dare to take the risk?
After researching a ton, and speaking with locals, we still had spots many unanswered questions before reaching the hike to Kjeragbolten. "How do you get to Kjerag", or "how long is the hike to Kjeragbolten?", and mostly importantly: "Is Kjeragbolten safe?". We now have all the answers, and this guide is going to cover everything you need to know in order to hike Kjeragbolten, so you can safely get that dream shot.
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📍 Where is the Hike to Kjeragbolten?
The hike to Kjeragbolten is located in the south of Norway, which a Scandinavian country in the north of Europe.
Kjeragbolten is located in the south of Norway.
🏘 What is the Closest Town to Kjeragbolten?
The closest town to Kjeragbolten is Lytebotn, which is a small town along a fjord, just 7 km from the trailhead.
Lysebotn is the closest town to the hike to Kjeragbolten.
✈️ What is the Nearest Airport to Kjeragbolten?
The nearest airport to Kjeragbolten is Stavanger, which is about 140 km away.
You can easily find domestic flights to Stavanger from Bergen, Oslo, Sandefjord, and Trondheim. International cities that fly direct to Stavanger include Aberdeen, Alesund, Alicante, Amsterdam, Chania, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Frankfurt, Gdansk, Krakow, London, Malaga, Mallorca, Newcastle, Split, and Varna.
Flight Tip: Using Skyscanner you can check the calendar to see which are the cheapest dates for flying to Stavanger.
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How Do You Get to Kjerag?
The route that you take to get to Kjeragbolten, of course depends on where you are coming from. Here are the different options that you can choose from.
How to Get from Stavanger to Kjeragbolten
As the closest big airport, the easiest place to be visiting Kjeragbolten from is Stavanger. You can either book a tour, or you can go on your own. Here are the different ways to get from Stavanger to Kjeragbolten.
🚐 Book a Tour to Kjeragbolten
If you are on your own, or aren't a big hiker, then booking a tour to Kjeragbolten may be your best option. This will be the most comfortable way to do the hike, and you'll probably feel much more comfortable having a guide with you to climb the boulder.
🚗 Rent a Car
We love renting cars when we are traveling, as it allows us to have more flexibility, and stop at cool places along the way. You can easily book a rental car from Stavanger airport, and drive to the trailhead of Kjeragbolten in a little over two hours.
Keep in mind that in the GPS you'll want to put in Kjerag Parking, which is right next to the trailhead. If you put in Kjeragbolten, it will lead you to a different route.
Google Maps oftentimes will send you to take the ferry to Lysebotn, but you can also drive around instead, which is the cheaper and more direct option. If you want to drive straight there, make sure to put "avoid ferries" in the option section.
Rent a car in Stavanger:
⛴ Taking the Car Ferry to Lysebotn
If you'd rather take the scenic route, you can in fact take a ferry from Lauvik or Oanes to Lysebotn. Just keep in mind that the ferries don't run all night, and are only offered in the summer months. Here is the Lysefjord ferry schedule.
Cars cost 950 NOK, and foot passengers cost 550. The ride is 2 hours and 20 minutes, so while this won't save you time necessarily, it will be very scenic, and allow you to relax from driving and save on gas (it's super expensive in Norway!). Car ferries have both indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a cafeteria with food and drinks.
🚌 Take Public Transportation from Stavanger to Kjeragbolten
The final option for visiting Kjeragbolten from Stavanger is to take public transportation. While this option definitely takes much longer, it is a bit more budget-friendly than the other options.
In order to do this you'll need to first take a bus from Stavanger to Sandnes Sentrum Station. From there you'll have to walk to Sandnes Bussterminal Ruten (which is a 3 minute walk). Then that bus will bring you Lauvvik, where you can get the same ferry that we had previously mentioned.
How to Get to Kjeragbolten from Oslo
Kjeragbolten was our first stop on our road trip of southern Norway, and we came directly from Oslo. Renting a car from Oslo is definitely the way to go.
While it is a bit of a drive (about 7 hours), it is a scenic drive, and you can stop along the way. We decided to break up the trip by staying overnight at this adorable campsite, and then continued our drive in the morning.
It's important to note that there has been a lot of construction on the highways in Norway, and the road to Kjeragbolten was actually only open during certain hours! This was another reason that we had to break up the trip, since the road was closed during the hours that we were driving. The road was open from 7 am to 8 am, and then again from 4 pm to 5 pm.
The Hike to Kjeragbolten
Once you arrive at the parking lot, you'll have to pay for your parking, and you'll see the trail right in front of the lot, with a big restaurant to your right.
The trailhead starts right from the parking lot.
🥾 Hiking to Kjeragbolten
The hike to Kjeragbolten is an interesting one! It consists of 3 different hills, going up and down each one. It has a variety in the trail from steep areas with chains to hold onto, rocks going across water, and larger flat areas marked by rocks. We're going to break down the entire hike though, so you know exactly what to expect.
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When you first start the hike, it is very steep, going up large boulders. There will be chains going up so that you can easily find your way up, but also to help get you up. The first big hill was the steepest one to get up, and took around 30 minutes to get up, and 5-10 to get down.
The first hill has chains to pull yourself up the hill.
After the first hill we had to cross to the next hill across wooden planks. The second hill took us another 40 minutes to get over, and that's where the emergency shelter cabin is located. This is in case there is extreme weather, or something happens to you and you need to call for help.
The shelter is about an hour into the hike.
Right past the shelter you will have to cross a river to get to the third and final hill. This hill is much flatter than the first two, which also means that you have to pay more attention to the signs in order to follow the path correctly.
The way that you'll know you're going in the right direction is to always look for the red paint marks, as well as the large rock piles along the way.
The final stretch in another 40 minutes going across large rocks, through streams, and finished off by going through a trail of snow.
Being that we visited in the beginning of the season (mid June), this may not be the case for you (if you happen to be going later in the season). There is little incline, but you'll be going in and out of rocks, streams, and potentially snow.
The final stretch of the hike to Kjeragbolten has a lot of rocks, streams, and snow.
🏁 Arriving at Kjeragbolten
Once you arrive at Kjeragbolten, you will be overwhelmed by the sight of it! it truly is a breathtaking view. Not just the rock itself though, but also the massive cliffs around it! Walk past the rock and you will see right by the edge an insanely beautiful view of the waterfall dropping right from the top of the cliff directly into the fjord down below.
We got there for sunset, and the suns rays were reflecting right onto the cliff where the waterfall was cascading in front it. It truly was magical!
Keep in mind there are no fences anywhere, so everything the area is purely at your own risk. There is a step to get onto the boulder wedged between the cliffs, which is wide enough to get onto for 1-2 people.
When we went we were alone, but if you happen to go in the middle of the day then you may find that there will be a long line to get a photo on the infamous boulder.
😨 How Scary is Kjeragbolten?
While many hikes give an illusion of a scary edge, the Kjeragbolten boulder is just as scary as it looks. Standing on this rock is certainly not for the faint of heart, and we definitely suggest not looking down while you are standing on it.
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Amenities at the Hike to Kjeragbolten
Along the trail there are no bathrooms, or places to get food or drinks. There is a restaurant right next to the trailhead though, in case you'd like to have a meal before or after your hike.
There is a big restaurant next to the start of the trailhead.
There is also plenty of water along the hike such as streams or small water bottles to refill your water bottle.
There are areas of water along the way to fill up your water bottle.
In addition, if there happens to be bad weather or any kind of emergency, there is a cabin for shelter that is about half way through the hike.
🏨 Where to Stay Near Kjeragbolten
If you want to spend the night near Kjeragbolten, you can find places to stay in Lysebotn, the nearest village to the start of the trailhead. Check the map below for options of places to stay:
Finally, there is a nearby campsite, if you are looking to spend a night in the area out in nature. There is also a waterfall right by it, where you can fill your water bottle before arriving at the hike to Kjeragbolten.
There is a waterfall and campsite just a few minutes up the road from the hike to Kjeragbolten.