Hiking to Kjeragbolten

The hike to Kjeragbolten is one of the top hiking destinations in Norway. It’s a 12km long hike (roundtrip) on the mountain of Kjerag and at the end you arrive at Kjeragbolten - a giant boulder that is wedged in a mountain crevasse, with nothing between the boulder and the fjord below except 1.1 km of air. We actually hadn’t planned on doing this hike, so it was a little bit of a last minute decision we made after talking to our Airbnb hosts in Sandnes. The hike is categorized as “red: challenging, for experienced hikers”. We would not describe ourselves as experienced hikers, so we knew this was going to be quite the challenge, but we were here in Norway and figured we couldn't pass on the opportunity.

We started the day bright and early, leaving our place near Sandnes around 5:00am. Our GPS gave us two options, both taking around 3 hours to arrive at the start of the hike. One way would include a 2.5 hour ferry through the Lysefjorden, and the second was a drive south around the fjord. We decided to drive to the hike, and take the ferry home. This would give us a relaxing ride after the hike and allow us to see Kjerabolten and Preikestolen (our hike from two days prior) from the fjord below.

The road to Kjerag was gorgeous. Even though it was just after 5 am, the sun was shinning bright in the sky, and highlighted the scenery as we drove toward the hike. We passed close to 60+ small waterfalls, drove through mountain terrain with huge boulders and bright green patches of grass and trees, and lovely peaceful Norwegian communities and cabins. As we got closer to the hike, it felt as though we were driving on the moon, it was full of massive boulders, mountains, and snow. We enjoyed the drive so much that we made plans to return on another day so we could enjoy it more and take some pictures. But for now, we were focused on getting to the base of the hike.

Our drive went really well, and we arrived much earlier than anticipated, right around 7 am. This worked out great as the hike is estimated to take 6-8 hours, and we were expecting to take closer to the 8 hour mark due to it’s difficulty rating. Our ferry home left at 6 pm (the last one of the day) so we knew we had at maximum 10 hours to get back to the car so that we could catch our ferry.

The hike consists of three steep climbs and two valleys before reaching a flatter part of Kjerag. As soon as you leave your car you start the first climb. Looking up, you can see little dots at the top, which you soon realize are people, and our first thought was “Oh my gosh, we go there?!”. We knew it would be a challenging hike, especially the three major climbs, so we were prepared to take it slow and pace ourselves, especially for Sharleen’s benefit as she isn’t particularly fond of steep uphill climbs. We took quite a few quick breaks as we made our way up, but the scenery was so breathtaking, it was nice to pause and take it in. The trail was quite steep and most of the time you are climbing, there are chains to assist you. You are also on the side of a mountain cliff, a fair distance from the edge, but it’s something that you definitely think about the whole time you make your way up!

Once you reach the top of the first climb, you really felt like you were climbing to the top of the world. There are mountains all around you, the fjord is a long way down, and you can see the small town of Lysebotn below in the distance. You walk on the flat top of this first mountain for just a few meters before heading right down into a valley. The down hill descent was a nice change, but also quite sad as you could see the second climb that was coming next, and you kind of wished the downhill would stop so the next climb was smaller! But again the views were beautiful, and we really enjoyed seeing the beautiful mix of mountains, boulders, greenery, snow, water, and bright blue skies.

The pathway was very well marked and easy to follow. There are red “T” markings everywhere guiding you on the trail as you climb the rocks and boulders. On the flatter parts there are stone pathways so it’s easy to stay on track. Every once in a while there are indicators telling you how far you have to go to reach the end, which is a nice motivator!

The second climb takes you higher than the first one, however we found it wasn’t as steep. It definitely had numerous steep sections, where you wouldn’t have been able to make it up without the use of the chains, but it seemed to be a little easier than the first one. Again we took our time climbing up, with many short little breaks. Darrell would probably estimate that we took a break after every 7 steps. But this gave us time to once again take in the beautiful views and take a bunch of pictures.

Once you reach the top of the second climb you reach a small flat area with a rescue hut for people who have emergencies or injuries while on the hike. There are no washrooms or facilities anywhere on the hike (which is very common) so the hut is only to be used for emergencies. It’s quite pretty, built out of rocks and boulders which look to have come from the surrounding landscape, and it kind of blends into the scenery. It’s a good place to stop for a quick recharge, as it marks the half way point, and prepares you for the largest and steepest climb of the hike. The valley leading up to the third hike isn’t as wide as the first one, but it does go quite a ways down before you start the climb up. We again had the same “oh my gosh” feeling look up and seeing tiny dots in the distance, not really looking forward to the climb up.

This climb was really steep, with chains for the majority of the climb, which were very handy. It is also the longest of the three climbs, and quite a few times we would get close to what we thought was the top to realize that there was another huge climb ahead of us. Sometimes the climb felt like it would never end! This mountain is the tallest peak along the Lysefjord, so we knew we would have to go quite high before reaching the top.

Once at the top the scenery changed to mainly boulders, rocks, and snow. There was a lot less greenery than in the valleys, but it was still quite beautiful. We still had about a kilometer to go before reaching the boulder, but the hike there was mainly flat with quite a few snow crossings. At this point we could tell we were high above the other mountains along the fjord, and the views along the mountain tops were beautiful!

As we got closer to the end we could start to hear people and we knew we were close. We had lucked out again, as there was really no traffic at all on this hike. When we arrived at the parking lot there were maybe 6-8 cars there, some belonging to overnight campers we passed early on in our hike. The whole time we hiked we were by ourselves enjoying the views, and once we reached the boulder there were maybe a total of 12 people at the top, and some left as soon as we got there. The boulder is quite impressive, and it’s definitely scary when you get closer to it. It’s wedged in place and as you try to get closer to it, you can see the huge drop down to the bottom of the fjord. There was also a small waterfall below it, due to the snow runoff. One of the reasons the hike is so popular is because people climb up and onto the boulder. Having just hiked through quite a bit of snow, the thought of climbing up onto the boulder seemed slippery and way to scary. We are still quite in awe of these Norway hikes. When you get to the top, the views are beautiful, but you are also standing right on the edge of massive cliffs that just drop down 1000 meters into the fjord. Neither one of us like heights, so it definitely makes us a bit nervous!

After having a quite snack, and taking in the views, a guide arrived with a couple who were looking to step onto the boulder. We watched him go through the steps of how to walk along the edge of the cliff, step onto two steps, hold on to a tiny metal loop (the only thing to assist you in the process), and then essentially crawl up onto the boulder and stand up. He then posed, and showed how to exit safely and where to step. It made both of our stomachs turn! The couple went to go on the boulder, the guy did it without issues, and the girl went up to join him, but was too scared to stand, so once she got on the boulder she stayed sitting down. Then they both got off without issues.

After watching them, Sharleen decided she was going to give it a try or at very least walk along the cliff and look around the corner to see how tricky it would be. She stepped up and along the edge, and made her way around. Having assessed her nervousness and the situation, she decided to go for it and put her hands down on the boulder so that she could crawl across. That was about as far as she wanted to go, as there was a surprising amount of sand and loose small gravel on the boulder, and she just didn’t feel comfortable standing up (especially because she has the wobbliest legs when it comes to heights!!). After a few pictures she returned back to the ledge safe and sound. For Darrell, the boulder was not something that appealed to him, so he was happy on solid ground taking pictures of the views.

The views from the top were definitely different from Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock). Once getting to the tops of Preikestolen, we could see for miles and miles and we spent 2 hours enjoying the views. With Kjerag, the highlight once reaching the top is Kjeragbolten, and you don’t really see much of the fjord because the location of the boulder is in a recessed portion of the mountain. So after having lunch and taking a few more pictures, we started heading back.

We were surprised with our timing, as it had taken us only 3 hours to get to the top, which had us on pace closer to the 6 hour total time. The hike back was definitely not as easy as other hikes, because the down hill sections are very steep, and there were quite a few uphill sections when you hike out of the valleys. We didn’t need to break nearly as often, however it took some time climbing down the steep rocks with the chains. The first and third descent were definitely the most challenging, and as we made our way down the final one, we could see our car the whole time which was very motivating! By the time we had reached the car, it was only 1:15 pm, which surprised us both, and left us with just over 4 hours before we could catch our ferry.

Overall we found the hike to be one of the best hikes we have ever done. The scenery the whole time you are hiking is stunning, and so many times we would pause just to look around and take it in. The views of the mountains around you, and seeing the fjord way below you, really make you feel like you are on top of the world.  And although the climbs are steep and long, it was kind of fun to climb over rocks and use the chains, something that we don’t get to do too often on hikes. The end point is also beautiful, with the boulder and a few waterfalls, but we didn’t find this to be the highlight of the hike as we did with Preikestolen.