Trolltunga 8/25/17 – (Norwegians say Troll-hueg-ga)
Woke up at 5 AM or so and had breakfast at our hotel. We ate the famous Norwegian brown cheese, which has a very creamy texture. We drove 45 min or so to the Trolltunga trail head. Trolltunga is named after a troll’s tongue. It’s was a game of cat and mouse while driving to the trailhead. The roads were extremely narrow. We parked in the main parking lot after not being able to find the upper parking lot due to a bus covering the entrance. The upper parking lot is a left turn from the main parking lot. We were told if you park in the upper parking lot you would shave 2 hours round trip off the hike. The cost for the main parking lot was 300 NOK and for the upper lot 500 NOK (both for 12 hours only)
The hike from the main parking lot started out with many switchbacks on a road. The journey to Trolltunga was pretty much all uphill, mostly a steady climb through a rocky and green landscape. It was fairly foggy on the way up. We were surprised on how few trees were around. This hike was heavily populated and there were several hundred people at the top. The combination of lots of people and lack of trees made it difficult to find a spot to pee. Fortunately the fog was clearing. The view from the top was incredible. There was a line to stand on the Trolltunga to capture a photo, which took about 75 min to get through. The hike back down was grueling and we could definitely feel it in our knees. We were limping by the time we reached the car. Total distance was 17 miles and it took just over 9 hours. After the hike we headed to Vinje Touristhotel. Enjoyed a Chinese dinner, organized our gear, and called it a night.
Specific Hiking Related Details to follow:
Trailhead: About 1-1.5 hours up the switchback road. Save time by turning up the hill by the Trolltunga Active store and paying 500NOK is highly recommended!
Cost as of August 2017 : 300NOKto park 12 hours in lower lot, 500NOK to park in upper lot for 12 hours (I highly recommend this option, you will save yourself 1 – 1.5hrs of walking a very draining switchback road)
Other things to note: Grueling Hike!! Check GPS picture data below.
