Pulpit Rock - Preikestolen, the most popular and famous hike in Norway
About Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen)
Pulpit rock, or also called “Preikestolen” in Norwegian, is no doubt one of the most famous and popular hike in Norway. It is about 25m x 25m in size and sits 604m above Lysefjord, which gives you a thrilled feeling when looking down the edge. The hike is around 8km long and with 500m ascend/descend. It takes about 4-5 hours roundtrip, but allow more if you want to take a long break to enjoy the amazing view of Lysefjord or take tons of pictures on the rock. Best hiking season for pulpit rock is from May to October. Generally speaking it is not a difficult hike, but there are definitely many big steps and some steep parts along the way. There are neither fence nor protection at the cliff, so be mindful while enjoying the view.
How to get there
To get to the pulpit rock trailhead, one can either:
1. Drive to Preikestolen parking
2. Take a bus from Stavanger to Preikestolen parking, which takes around 50 minutes (As of 2024, check Gofjords or Pulpit Rock Tours for bus tickets)
Note that if the parking is full, you will be asked to turn around or wait for hours. If you are taking the bus, then tickets must be purchased online beforehand. Bus tickets only works for the company you purchased from, hence cannot be mixed.
Our experience
Me, my partner and my parents visited the pulpit rock in the end of June. It was a cloudy day with forecasted rain in the afternoon. Since we only had one weekend in Stavanger, we decided to try despite the not so ideal weather. We left Stavanger at 8 in the morning and started hiking at 9:30am. Exactly at noon, we have reached the pulpit rock, but it was already covered in fog and the rain quickly went from dropping to pouring.
We stood in the rain for I don’t remember how long, maybe for an hour or so, hoping that the rain would pass and the fog would clear up. Luckily, our patience paid off! Fog slowly cleared up and revealed the beautiful view of Lysefjord. At one point, there was even a hint of sun shining through making the rock golden. Excluding the wait in the rain, we probably spent an extra hour exploring and taking pictures around pulpit rock. By 14-ish, we started our descent back to the trailhead.
We visited pulpit rock at the end of June. The weather was not optimal, I had a base layer and a fleece most of the time. It got quite cold while we were standing and waiting for the rain to pass. There was no shelter on top of the mountain, so many had to turn around immediately due to heavy rain. There were also many who decided to stay and wait like us. Luckily we all have waterproof jacket, pants, and shoes. This experience really shows that weather can change rapidly in the mountain area. Therefore it is important to always be prepared.
What we used and brought with us
Daypack (20-30L) with rain cover
Lunch, snacks, and water
Windproof or waterproof jacket
Fleece or insulated layer
Beanie or buff
Waterproof hiking boots
Camera
