Hiking

In total, the hike to Kjeragbolten is 9.8km long with a difference in altitude of approx. 460m. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there and a little less to get back. The hike takes you up and down several ridges, which makes it quite strenuous. In some places, the rocky surfaces are also very steep and slippery, so you should be careful and ideally always pull yourself up using the chains provided.

Before we arrived at the well-known Kjeragbolten, we lingered on the summit of Kjerag about 300m beforehand. It was much quieter here than at Kjeragbolten.

At regular intervals, you can hear a gunshot-like bang on Kjerag, followed by smoke rising from the rock face. We actually witnessed this, too. The cause of this has not yet been clarified. However, it is assumed that the bang is caused by water coming out of the rock face under high pressure.

FERRY RIDE ACROSS THE LYSEFJORD

From Lysebotn you can take a tourist ferry to Lauvik. From there, it's not far to Preikestolen. The trip is a kind of round trip through the Lysefjord. Unfortunately, the ferry doesn't run every day, which is why we couldn't take it. But if you can make time for the ferry trip through the Lysefjord, you should definitely take it! In hindsight, we are really sad that it didn't work out for us. We did take a boat through the Geirangerfjord, but we found the Lysefjord much more impressive! You can find out about departure times and prices here.

Lysebotn also has a tourist office with helpful staff. A nice lady there also helped us to get from Lysebotn to Preikestolen. She recommended a ferry (Forsand - Oanes), which departs further away from Lysebotn and doesn't make a round trip through the fjord, but runs almost around the clock.

parking & Where to sleep

We saved ourselves the parking costs at the Øygardstøl parking lot by simply walking from our overnight spot - a parking lot at a small waterfall, a little further along the road towards the valley. The parking lot didn't cost us a cent. There were garbage cans and a table with benches. You can also “shower” under the waterfall. I can only say from experience: it's very cold!

If you prefer to stay at a campsite, there is one in the valley in Lysebotn. From here, however, you should drive to the starting point of the hike, as it is still a long way to the Øygardstøl parking lot.

Gas Stations

The pass from Sirdal to Lysebotn is a highlight! You should therefore definitely plan to stop several times. However, with so much untouched nature, you should remember to refuel beforehand. We filled up just before the pass in Dalen.