Very Difficult Until 2010, almost nobody came to Trolltunga. About 800 people a year. Norwegians didn't hike to Trolltunga the way they hiked Besseggen or Preikestolen, both of which have been popular destinations for over a century. This rock formation was just there, unmarked and largely ignored.
Then Instagram happened. Visitor numbers hit 40,000 by 2014 and 87,000 by 2018. In 2016 alone there were 42 rescue operations. People arrived in jeans and trainers. Some started at noon. Some brought no food or water. The local Red Cross volunteers were overwhelmed. In eight out of ten cases, those needing rescue were foreign tourists who were ill-equipped, ran out of energy, or were surprised by darkness or bad weather.
The rock itself is granite, carved by glaciers about 10,000 years ago. It juts out roughly 10 metres from the cliff face, 700 metres above Ringedalsvatnet. In folklore, trolls turn to stone in sunlight. This was supposedly one caught mid-taunt.
We give this hike our black label: very difficult. The round trip from P2 is 27 kilometres with over 1,700 metres total ascent. Plan 10 to 12 hours of hiking, plus breaks and queueing for your photograph. Even fit, experienced hikers find this exhausting. Most people have zero energy the next day.
There are no barriers at the rock. No safety rails. In September 2015, a 24-year-old Australian student fell 300 metres to her death. She had stepped too far to the right while trying to pass other people waiting for photographs. It took rescue crews seven hours to retrieve her body.
The season runs from June to late September. Outside this window, do not attempt this alone. We have seen countless requests in Facebook groups from people asking if they can hike Trolltunga in January because the guided tour is too expensive. Let us be blunt: there are easier methods to commit suicide.
If this sounds too hard, try Preikestolen instead.
