BASE Jumping at Kjerag
Why here
Because the cliff is very tall, very steep and reachable on foot. A jumper can walk up in the morning with a rig on their back, which is not true of most walls of this size anywhere in the world. The same geology that makes the Lysefjord look the way it does — a glacier cutting a deep, straight, steep-sided valley — produces an exit point with a long drop and clear air underneath it. Rock climbers use the same face from the other direction; it is a big wall.
The number problem
This is the single most common mistake in everything written about this mountain. A page about hiking Kjerag quotes a death toll. The death toll belongs to BASE jumping. The reader concludes that walking out to a boulder is one of the most lethal things a tourist can do in Norway, when in fact there is no recorded death from falling off Kjeragbolten at all.
I will not repeat a jumper fatality count here, and not out of squeamishness. The figures in circulation vary by source, by period and by what counts as an accident, and once quoted they get recycled into hiking articles where they do real harm to people’s understanding of the risk they are taking. What is solid is this: jumpers have been killed at Kjerag, and accidents are reported most years. The hiking question is answered separately on how many have died.
Will I see jumpers?
What works
- In good summer weather, quite possibly — the exits are on the same mountain
- They are usually easy to spot: rigs, helmets, an unhurried look at the wind
- It is a legal, organised sport here, not something happening in secret
- Watching one go is the most memorable minute of many people’s day
Worth knowing
- You should not follow them anywhere off the marked route
- Their assessment of conditions is not transferable to you on foot
- Some days there are none at all; it depends entirely on weather
- Their accidents are reported as Kjerag accidents, which distorts the record
If you are hiking, the relevant safety information is about wet rock, three ascents, two descents and a long descent on tired legs, not about parachutes. That is on how safe is it, and the reassurance most people are actually looking for is on has anyone fallen off.
If you see a group preparing at an exit, stand well back and stay quiet until they have gone. They are doing arithmetic with wind, and an audience walking through their line of sight is not helping.
What there is to book
Not the trail. Nobody sells a ticket to Kjerag and nobody could, because there is no gate and nobody standing at one. What you pay for is the ride out of Stavanger and the guide who walks it with you, and the road up is open for about five months a year. The options are laid out on the bookings page and compared on the decision page.
Frequently asked questions
Is BASE jumping allowed at Kjerag?
Kjerag is one of the best known BASE jumping cliffs in the world and jumpers come here regularly. It is a separate activity from hiking.
Do the Kjerag death statistics apply to hikers?
No. They overwhelmingly belong to BASE jumping. There is no recorded death from falling off Kjeragbolten.
Can I try a jump as a beginner?
No. This is not a beginner activity and nothing on this site relates to it. What is bookable here is hiking and boat transport.