Famous Rocks in Norway

Three rock formations carry Norway’s reputation abroad: Preikestolen, Kjeragbolten and Trolltunga. They are conventionally grouped as the big three. Each is a different shape of the same idea — a piece of geology you can stand on with a very long drop underneath — and each needs a different sort of day to reach.

PreikestolenA flat plateau, 604 m above the water

KjeragboltenA wedged boulder, 984 m above the water

TrolltungaA jutting shelf, in Odda, Vestland

Kjeragbolten volumeAbout 5 cubic metres

Kjeragbolten originGlacial deposit, around 50,000 BC

Kjerag’s summitAbout 1,084 m

The three, described plainly

Preikestolen is a flat square of rock, roughly 604 metres above the Lysefjord on its north side, reached by a well-walked path of about 8 kilometres. It is the most visited of the three because it is the least work: 4 to 5 hours, no chains, about an hour from Stavanger.

Kjeragbolten is the odd one. It is not part of the cliff at all but a boulder of about five cubic metres left behind by the ice and wedged into a crevice, suspended roughly 984 metres above the same fjord on the south side. You step onto it from the side. Reaching it is about 11 kilometres and 6 to 10 hours, with several hundred metres of chains on the steep slabs.

Trolltunga is a shelf of rock sticking out horizontally over a lake, in Odda in Vestland — a different region several hours away. It is the long walk of the three, roughly two and a half times the length of Kjerag.

Why Kjeragbolten is the strange one

The other two are parts of a mountain that happen to be shaped interestingly. Kjeragbolten is a separate rock that arrived. Ice carried it during the last glaciation, around 50,000 BC, and when the ice melted the land rebounded faster than the sea rose, closing the crevice on the boulder. It is wedged rather than balanced, which is the answer to the question everyone actually wants to ask. More on the boulder page.

What it is like to visit one

What works

No tickets, no permits and no barriers on any of the three
Kjerag: no recorded death from falling off the boulder in Norwegian history
All three are on marked routes and none needs technical skill
Two of the three sit on opposite sides of one fjord

Worth knowing

Each is a mountain day, not a viewpoint you drive to
There is no fence anywhere — see the fence page
Kjerag depends on a road that is open about five months a year
The queue for the photograph is real on a mid-season afternoon

If you want the comparison in walking terms rather than geology, it is on the top hikes page and, for the two on the Lysefjord, on Kjerag or Preikestolen.

Local tip

Look at the crevice, not the boulder, when you arrive. Everybody photographs the rock; the thing that explains it is the two walls on either side of it, and they are what make the step onto the top a stride rather than a leap.

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.

Check dates & book

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Frequently asked questions

What is the famous rock in Norway?

Usually one of three: Preikestolen, Kjeragbolten or Trolltunga. Kjeragbolten is the boulder wedged in a crevice.

How did Kjeragbolten get stuck there?

It is a glacial deposit from around 50,000 BC, wedged as the land rebounded faster than the sea rose after the ice melted.

Can you stand on all three?

Yes, and none requires equipment. Each is reached by a marked mountain trail rather than by road.