Lysefjorden Adventure · Stavanger
A guide collects you from your Stavanger hotel or Airbnb at 7:00, drives 2.5 hours into the mountains and walks the whole trail to Kjeragbolten with a group of eight at most. Pick it if you want the boulder without the driving, the parking or the guesswork on the chains.
Lysefjorden Adventure is a Stavanger outfit that guides both of the big Lysefjord hikes, this one and the Pulpit Rock day. Pickup is at 7:00 from any hotel or Airbnb in Stavanger. The van heads east into the mountains and along the Lysevegen road to Øygardstøl, the car park at the top of the Lysebotn hairpins, at about 640 m. That drive takes 2.5 hours, sometimes a little more. You're back at your door in the early evening, about 11 hours after you left.
The hike is the official route: about 11 km return, around 760 m of climbing and about 6 hours, graded red, or demanding. Three steep climbs have fixed chains on the granite, and the valleys between them mean the walk back climbs too. Guests report that the guide picks the line up the slabs, waits for slower hikers and takes the photos at the boulder. Stepping onto Kjeragbolten, above a drop usually quoted as 984 m, is your call. Plenty of people stand beside it and go home happy.
Two caveats. The listing asks for moderate fitness, yet nearly every review calls the hike challenging, and several mention rain and slippery chains. And there's no lunch: pack food and water for 6 hours on the trail (you can refill bottles from the stream at Storedalen). The 4.6 rating comes from 173 reviews; the few four-star ones are about guides who said little on the drive, not about safety.
Your guide collects you at your hotel or Airbnb. Have your boots on and your pack ready: the van leaves on time.
East through the hills, then along the high Lysevegen road to the Kjerag car park above Lysebotn, at about 640 m.
Steep granite with fixed chains on each climb and green valleys in between. The trail is marked with red T's and cairns.
Lunch, photos and the step onto the boulder if you want it. The cliff edge over Lysebotn is a few minutes away.
The same three ridges in reverse, with more climbing and steep descents on the chains. Wet rock slows everyone down.
About 2.5 hours to your door, roughly 11 hours after pickup.
★★★★★Great hike and amazing experience. Guide was friendly and helped thr slower members of the group on the more difficult sections. He also let us stay at thr top for a while to wait for weather ti improve to see incredible views. Definitely worth it. [...]
★★★★★It was an extremely wonderful tour. [...] We are an old couple, the guide helped my wife all the way up and down the mountain. Without his help, my wife would not have made the trip. Thank you.
★★★★★We had a great guide - Tua - who made the experience fun. He has done this trip many, many times so he was able to give us good tips on where to go and some extra view points. [...] The hike was harder than I thought it would be but we had a great group [...]
★★★★★Fantastic service, easy to book and our guide was great. Our guide chose the best route up, looked after everyone and ensured we got some great photos at the top.
Read next:
Fitter than the listing suggests. It says moderate fitness, but guests call the hike challenging or very challenging: about 11 km, roughly 750 to 800 m of climbing over three steep, chained sections, and 5 to 7 hours on foot. Our guide to how hard Kjerag is has a simple fitness test.
No. Food and drinks are excluded, so pack lunch, snacks and water. Most groups eat at the top near the boulder, and there's a stream at Storedalen for refills.
No. The step is optional and nobody will push you. There's no recorded death from falling off the boulder, but skip it in rain or wind. More in our guide to standing on the boulder.
At any hotel or Airbnb in Stavanger, at 7:00. You choose the pickup point when you book, and the van drops you back there in the evening.
Ready to book
Pickup at your Stavanger hotel or Airbnb, a guide on all three climbs and a group of eight at most. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Small-Group Kjerag Hike with TransfersRated 5.0 from 52 reviews: a licensed guide, the trailhead parking paid and a brisk pace. Ages 10 and up.★ 5.0 · 11 hours · from $236
Kjerag Hike with a Local GuideA newer outfit with a black minibus, a local guide and room for 15. The shortest guided day, no reviews yet.New · 9 hours · from $244
Pulpit Rock & Kjerag Overnight TripPreikestolen, a night in Lysebotn and Kjerag the next morning, with a guide and most meals. Adults 18 to 70.New · 2 days · from $1,077