How hard is Kjerag?

How hard is the Kjerag hike?

Demanding (red) on the Norwegian scale: steep, long and exposed in places, but no climbing skills needed. Fit hikers find it tough; unfit ones find it very hard.

The numbers, from the official sources:

Sources: Fjord Norway (Kjerag), Visit Norway (Preikestolen), trolltunga.com. DNT's ut.no measures Kjerag a little shorter, at 9.3 to 10 km, and allows 6 to 7 hours. Kjerag sits in the middle: much harder than Preikestolen, far shorter than Trolltunga.

How long does it take to hike Kjerag?

About 6 hours return by the official estimate, with 5 to 7 hours normal. Add an hour or more if you queue for the boulder or hate heights.

Most people need 2.5 to 3 hours up and about the same back. The way down is not much quicker: you descend the same slabs, and the two valleys in between mean climbing again. Fjord Hikes lists 30 minutes at Kjerag itself, which is short if you want the boulder photo in July.

Without a tour, the express bus gives you 6 hours between arrival and the 16:30 departure. That is enough for a fit pair and tight for anyone slow. Turn around by 13:30 if you haven't reached the plateau.

What are the three climbs on Kjerag?

First, straight up from the Øygardstøl car park; second, out of the Storedalen valley; third, the final ridge onto the Kjerag plateau. Each has chains.

• Climb one: it starts within minutes of the car park, at about 640 m. Smooth, steep granite with a chain. It's the one that scares people, mostly because nobody has warmed up yet.
• Down into Storedalen: a descent into a green valley with a stream. Fill your bottle here.
• Climb two: back up the other side, again steep and chained.
• Climb three: the last ridge onto the massif. After it, the trail crosses an open, rocky plateau of pools and cairns at about 1,000 m to the boulder.

One guest summed up the order of suffering: "The first and third mountain points were a struggle both in ascent and descent". On the return, climbs two and one come back as descents, and the valley between them is one more climb.

Are the chains on Kjerag scary?

Not on a dry day. The chains run beside the trail on the steepest slabs as a handrail, not over a drop. In rain they get slippery and the slabs get worse.

Fjord Norway says several hundred metres of chain are fixed on the steep sections. You hold one in one hand, sometimes both, and walk your feet up the rock. There is no harness and no clip-in. Hands get sore: "I would recommend to get some hiking gloves as your hands might get sore after holding onto the chains when going up", one hiker wrote.

Wet rock is the real problem. Another reviewer: "As it was raining during our hike, some parts were quite slippery and even wet chains were sometimes slippery in hands." Boots with a soft, grippy sole help a lot more than trail runners with worn lugs.

Nervous on the slabs? A guide shows you where to put your feet, and the group is never more than eight.

★ 4.6 · 11 hours · from $214

Explore the guided Kjerag hike → Tour details

Is Kjerag OK if you are afraid of heights?

Mostly yes. The trail itself is rarely exposed; the edge and the boulder are where heights bite, and you can stay back from both.

The chained climbs are steep, but you face the rock with the slope beneath you, not a vertical drop. Exposure arrives at the end: the cliff edge above the fjord and the cleft where Kjeragbolten hangs. Nobody has to walk to the edge, and nobody has to step on the boulder. Fjord Norway's only advice for nervous hikers is to allow extra time.

Plenty of people walk the whole way, look at the boulder from the side, and leave happy. More on that in standing on Kjeragbolten.

How fit do you need to be for Kjerag?

Fit enough to walk uphill for an hour without stopping, and to do 5 to 7 hours on your feet. The tours ask for moderate to strong fitness.

Lysefjorden Adventure asks for moderate fitness and warns against the trip with back problems or heart conditions. Fjord Hikes and Lysekammen ask for strong fitness. Here is a home test we'd trust:

• Stairs: 760 m of ascent is about 250 floors. Can you do 60 floors of stairs in one go, then walk down again without your knees complaining?
• Distance: a 10 km walk with some hills should feel easy.
• Hands: you'll pull yourself up on a chain. A few pull-up attempts or a session at a climbing wall tells you how your grip feels.

First-timers do make it. "It was my first hike ever but the scenery was amazing. I struggled physically and my legs were tired after", one guest wrote. Someone else went the other way: "You need to have experience with climbing, steep grades and rock faces." Both are true depending on the weather.

Can children and older hikers do Kjerag?

Fit kids from about 10 and fit hikers into their 70s do it. The tours set their own limits: Fjord Hikes takes children from 10, the overnight trip adults up to 70.

The tours' age bands: Lysefjorden Adventure has a youth band from 8 to 14, Fjord Hikes a child band from 10 to 12, Lysekammen adults up to 80, and the overnight and three-day trips adults from 18 to 70. Small children are a different question. The chains are set for adult reach, and a 6-hour day is long for anyone under 10.

Age matters less than legs. One couple wrote that the guide "helped my wife all the way up and down the mountain". Another guest saw a 65-year-old in the group who "really struggled but was persistent to finish the walk", with the guide staying beside her.

Do you need a guide for Kjerag?

Not in summer if you are an experienced hiker. Yes in snow, outside the season, or if this is your first steep mountain.

The trail is marked with red T's and busy in July. In snow, Fjord Norway's advice is to use a guide and not hike on your own. The road and bus close in autumn too, so from October a guided tour is usually the only realistic way in; see Kjerag in October.

A guide also decides when to turn back, which matters more than people think. One reviewer: "The weather was bad so I didn't go all the way to the rock, but the guide is good at guiding the steps for minimum fall. Safety first!"

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