Trolltunga: Norway's Famous Hike
One of my most anticipated hikes … a Hike-in hike-out with one of the coolest lookout spots to be rewarded with. It was a moody day and provided for some pretty unique pictures!
Trolltunga:
Time 8-12 hours
Difficulty : Strenuous
Elevation: 1100 M
Distance 28KM In and out
Our Hike:
We started at the base of P3, so the hike started rather leisurely. First steep portion was with many rock steps, likely the most physically challenging part. The rest of the hike is through the valley and mountains, and although not perfectly flat.. It wasn’t too steep either. It would level off and have small elevations throughout.
It is well marked with Red T’s along the route, but if its foggy, pay close attention. Towards the end I was getting so excited I think we did a mini circle.. More T’s than I thought and visible throughout.
We started early and were back in the car by lunchtime. And when I mean early I mean “get up at 3am, pack the tent, and get to the gate by 6” kind of early.
We did this hike after we had already done 2 hikes.. so in total in 3 days we had hikes 60KM. We saved the longest hike for last as it worked with our road trip plan.. we weren’t sore though as our spirits were too high to even think about being tired/sore/wet (Norway was a rainy one during September)
We were so fortunate to have the famous toungue to ourselves. It was windy, cold, wet, but worth it. We took a few shots on the tongue and just tried to believe that this place was real. Looking at the pictures brings me back to those exact moments.
PRACTICAL TIPS:
We hiked in September and if I can offer advice.. Bring rain gear! I think it rained about 4 out of the 6 hours we were outside. Good gear is just a non negotiable for these types of things.
The Tongue
Allot for waiting in the Que to get your picture taken. We got so lucky and were the first ones there at 0900am (we did beat the others who also started at P3, and because the weather was bad the day before I think it turned some people away in the AM). Rain did not stop us and we were rewarded with the tongue to ourself.. But I have heard most people its about 45+ wait to get your picture taken. Worth it! Just be nice and don’t take 500.
Bring something warm for the tongue, this was definately the coldest I felt and if you are waiting you could definately lose some body heat.
The tongue isnt scary, its quite wide, maybe just more steep than I imagined?(Cant tell from pictures) Totally awesome.
The car lot:
There are 3 parking lots, P1 / P2 / P3
We payed for P3, and through the lottery system we got 0600 AM start.. Hurray!
I honestly think its worth it, depending on your budget and where you are in your trip journey.
Personally, we had already done 2 hikes, and wanted the rest of the day to drive near our next destination for our next walk.
You could also park at P2 and shuttle to P3(note it does end up costing smidgen more than just parking at P3). Depends on budget and how you are feeling. I believe P3 is around 600 NOK, worth every penny IMO.
If you’re feeling fresh, want to start even earlier,or want the extra challenge, by all means park at P1 or even P2!
Here is the link for the parking:
https://www.trolltunganorway.com/en_GB/parking
Overall:
We did this hike alot faster than I thought - as mentioned.. we were done by lunchtime. We are both athletic, and more so just driven and held a good pace. I always say plan for the worst but be suprised with the best. We were back at our car at noon :). We did overtake alot of people however, and on the way back saw so many people just starting. Go at your pace and allot for more time than not. Its so worth it!
