Finally: Kjerag

Last Friday we finally did it: We conquered Kjerag! The weather report was promising, and so we decided to do a one day-trip, driving to Lysebotn and hiking to the Kjeragbolten as well as coming back from there to Kristiansand in a 10 hour-period. We started early in the morning, departing from Kristiansand at 7:00 am and we came back around 19:00 pm, resulting in total 12 hours, consisting of 6 hours driving and roughly 6 hours hiking and fooling around on the Kjerag ;)

Before advancing to the pictures, I have to state that this trip and the Kjerag area in general was the most intense experience I have made here in Norway until now. You are confronted with some breathtaking and simply awesome views, and it really feels like something to stand on the Kjeragbolten at the end of the tour, peeping down 1000 m to the fjord... I heartily recommend this to everyone that visits Norway, it is one of the most rewarding things you can do here!!!

Now, for the pictures:


Around 11 am, we arrive at the parking lot where the hike starts... weather conditions more than perfect!

Nice landscape shot with the visitor centre at the edge of the cliff, above Lysebotn, the small village underneath

Starting our ascent... in total, there are 3 ascents and 2 valleys you have to pass until you arrive at Kjeragbolten

A view back... notice the distance to the visitor centre !!

Pausing to catch our breath after the first ascent...

The group in motion!

The first valley... marshlands

The chains are put up sometimes to help hikers climb the rocky surfaces

A nice view of the first valley and the surreal landscape it offers

Climbing up the second ascent... a view towards the other side of the fjord

One of my favourite pictures... a little cairn in front of colossal landscape

Another surreal area... in general, you feel kind of strange while hiking on top of the fjords, because it is so different to habitated areas...

Pretty high up already... the little village one can see in between the mountains is Lysebotn, at the end of Lysefjord

Seems like the best place for an amateur self-portrait!!

First panorama shot trying to catch the atmosphere up there...

Meeting the girls... it was really funny, another group of international students from Kristiansand was there on the same day we went, and we met them here, halfway through the hike

Snow-covered tops in the distance....

Second panorama shot... the last one was looking back to the valley, this one is looking at the other side of the fjord

Nice atmospheric picture... one of the biggest cairns I've ever seen, and also a Wikipedia-celebrity ;)

There it is! Kjeragbolten from afar

One of the many wonders of nature...

It's a pretty long way down...

...but it features an amazing view into one part of the fjord

Now for some action... first posing on the Kjeragbolten

And the obligatory hero pose...

After stressful seconds on the stone, what about relaxing on the edge of the cliff rather?! XD

Another shot of the stone alone

And here we have some artistic fooling, Adventure Time-style... applause for Christian and Esperanza!

I close this post with an amazing view over the Lysefjord... this is not at the Kjeragbolten-site, but a short hike away, on an even higher plateau that offers fantastic distance view...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND, for those of you who prefer moving pictures, I made a video at Kjeragbolten, too. Enjoy (needless to say, I recommend watching in HD):

See you soon, folks!!!