Easiest way to Pulpit Rock, Norway’s most famous hike
Tips from my one-day journey to Stavanger
Today, I’m going to tell you about one of my most memorable trips to date, where I traveled to the city of Stavanger and hiked Norway’s Pulpit Rock. I flew out of Oslo where I was spending the week with friends only to return from this journey 24 hours later. For me, it was a bit unorthodox to book such a short trip but unfortunately, I only had one day left in the country and I needed to make it count. I do live 5300 miles away after all.
Oslo is a beautiful city where I spent most of my time, however my friends kept reiterating that if I wanted to see the real Norway, then I needed to book a flight and leave the city entirely. It was either fly all the way north to Tromsø to see the northern lights or all the way west to Stavanger and see the fjords. Since I’ve been a hiker since day one, all of the stars aligned for my journey west to Pulpit Rock.
Pulpit Rock (also called Preikestolen) is a 604 meter high cliff that overlooks Norway’s most breathtaking fjords. It is widely considered the most famous hike in the country and one of the most popular in all of the Nordic region. It encompasses the very best of Norway with its scenery and is relatively easy to hike. It was a no brainer to book this trip, even if it means being on my feet literally the entire day.
Initially, I did some research online on how to get to this hike but couldn’t find any results on people doing it in a day. If you are reading this article looking for answers, read further because it is 100% doable and 100% worth the effort. Here is how (including links and maps):
1st. Book a direct flight to the Stavanger Airport (SVG)
Stavanger is the city closest to Pulpit Rock and should be accessible by most major airlines. I booked this flight from the nation’s capital of Oslo, at a price of about $70 USD.
I woke up at 7AM in Oslo to hop on a bus 30 minutes north to the airport. My flight left at 9:00 AM and lasted about 55 minutes. Both airports were very small and getting through security was a breeze. The staff at both airports were very friendly and a majority of the signs were in English which was a huge relief. Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Helsinki and Gothenburg are also cities outside of the country that have cheaper connecting flights to Stavanger.
2nd. Take a shuttle from the airport to the Stavanger bus terminal downtown
As you can see, the airport in the bottom left is quite a ways away from downtown. I landed in Stavanger at about 9:55AM carrying just a backpack with a change of clothes and a toothbrush. The airport is really small and a nice change of pace after being through some very large ones earlier in the month. I thought about renting a vehicle for the day, but honestly had no idea where to go at the time. I decided on a bus service that operates on a route straight to the city where all of the action is. It was called the Flybussen and you can book the same ticket as I did here. Just set your location coming from Stavanger lufthavn (the airport) to Stavanger bussterminal (the city center). It will allow you to select a time of departure as well.
The bus just so happened to be waiting at the airport already with the driver hanging out at the wheel. I hopped on with maybe three other people and we departed about 5 minutes early at around 10:55AM. I’m not sure if we just came during an unpopular time or if it’s because very few people used this bus service. I know back in the states, that bus wouldn’t leave until it’s either full or right at the departure time.
Along the ride you’ll see some pretty cool things such as the Sverd i fjell below:
Before reaching the bus station, I asked the driver to drop me off near the marina (which was only a quarter mile away from the bus station). The city reminded me a lot of Seattle, with ferries going to and from the neighboring islands, and with small shops all along the boardwalk. There were also tons of scooters and bikes for rent around the city, a service that Norway is really trying to push in the coming years.
It was 12PM and about time to figure out how to actually get to the base of Pulpit Rock. The hike was still about a 45 minute drive away from the city
I remember watching some Youtuber that said I needed to take a ferry from the city all the way to a small town called Tau. I spent a good hour looking around the marina to try and board such a ferry, but didn’t have any luck. I couldn’t figure out how to read the ferry schedule and wasn’t sure if I was even at the right place to board it. There was a numerical system used to label the ferries going in and out from the port, but apparently some were only operational at certain times of the day. I was running out of time and options since I didn’t have a vehicle and my phone service was terrible.
3rd. Buy a bus pass from Stavanger to Preikestolen Basecamp
Finally, I found a local Starbucks to grab a drink and use wifi. It turns out there was a Pulpit Rock bus service that takes people to the hike throughout the day. I bought one immediately which left at about 1:30PM. I chose a departure from Radisson Blu Atlantic (Olav Vs Gate) which is very close to the Starbucks I was waiting at. This service takes you directly to the base of Pulpit Rock and has several departure times to return back to the city (mentioned on their website).
An hour passed and I walked over to where the bus was going to be. It was the same size bus as the one I took earlier in the day only there were about 10 times as many people on this one. That’s always a good sign that you booked the correct bus by the way, when it’s filled with other tourists. This bus ride was way different than I had anticipated. I assumed that we would be going over some sort of long bridge to get to the other side. Instead we went through what’s called The Ryfylke Tunnel which is about 9 miles long, and apparently the longest (and deepest) subsea road tunnel on the planet! It’s pretty incredible actually because I can’t help but think about what would happen if that thing floods.
Once we reached the other side, we entered the city of Tau and it was about another 10 minutes up the road until we reached Priekestolen Basecamp where the hike begins.
4th. Hike up from Preikestolen Basecamp to the cliff
At around 2:15PM, we arrived at the base of Priekestolen. Here, there was a small restaurant and gift shop to buy food for the hike up. The hike to Pulpit rock lasts about an hour with a majority of it having a steep incline. Make sure you are well equipped with the appropriate hiking shoes for this particular hike, because you will be using every bit of them
As you make your way up to the top, be sure to to stop and turn around every now and then. The views only get better and better along the way. The hike itself takes a good hour and a half to reach the top, but once you’re at the peak, you’ll definitely want to stay longer. They also recommend starting this hike in the morning to avoid crowds, but I didn’t think it was that big of an issue. According to local blogs, arriving early in the mornings doesn’t always guarantee you’ll “beat the crowd” either.
The hike starts off with a medium incline towards a forest and then flattens out for a while on a boardwalk. After the boardwalk, the steepest part of the hike begins, and it is where you’ll run into the most people. It can be pretty exhausting around this part, but once you get through it, you can turn around and see several of western Norway’s islands
After this portion, the hike turns back into a medium incline and bypasses a few small lakes along the way. My phone battery was running low so my pictures are limited, but you will see a few small waterfalls along the way as you approach the fjord. In summary, the Pulpit Rock hike is basically going from one side of a mountain to the other.
Once you reach the other side, you will know it. As you approach one of the most amazing views you’ll ever see in your life. A view so iconic that even Tom Cruise decided to film a scene in Mission Impossible with Henry Cavill here. This is when you start to realize that the one day journey was all worth it, as we reached the top at around 4:15pm.
At the top you will see about a hundred other people waiting around to take pictures towards the end of the rock. Some crazy folks even decided to take pictures sitting on the edge (which still gives me chills as I sit here writing this). You can’t see it in the picture above, but you can actually continue the hike along the right of the rock and scale the mountain further up. Here you can take even better pictures of Pulpit Rock looking downward.
5. Return using the same two bus services above and book a hotel at the airport for rest
I stayed at the top for as long as possible before proceeding to hike back. I reached the bottom at around 6PM and the same bus service that dropped me off was there to take me back.
I decided to book a hotel right next to the airport because I had an early flight at 6:30AM the next day. I don’t recall finding a bus service that operated early in the morning nor did I know where to find a taxi at 4:00AM (Yep. I’m that one dude that’s always at the airport hours before the flight by the way). If you are reading this and have been to Stavanger before, feel free to correct me in the comments. I chose the Scandic airport hotel because it was convenient for me and allowed me to operate on my own schedule. Plus, they had a restaurant with a decent breakfast and dinner menu. I checked in at 8PM, showered and was in bed by 9:30PM.
I woke up the next morning at 5AM to grab breakfast and walked right over to the airport with an already printed boarding pass. The airport was empty like before and security was a breeze. I boarded my flight and was back in Oslo within 24 hours like I had intended.
