48 hours and 1000 miles to the Pulpit Rock
The climax scene of Tom Cruise’s latest Mission Impossible brought back some lovely memories of my hike to the Pulpit Rock. Although my journey wasn’t as adrenaline filled as that of Ethan Hunt’s (he lands on the rock via a helicopter and is then seen hanging by a rope 2000 ft. above the majestic Lysefjord), it had its own share of adrenaline rushes. It is easily one of the most breath-taking journeys I have undertaken till date.
Pulpit Rock
Pulpit rock (also known as Preikestolen) is a major tourist attraction of Norway. It’s a 604 m cliff with a 25 m x 25 m flat rock at its top which offers some stunning views of the Lysefjord below. The hiking season is from April to September; hiking is not recommended post September because of the windy and slippery conditions at the Pulpit. Given my schedule, the best I could time my visit to the Pulpit rock was the last week of September.
I checked the weather on yr.no (one of the more reliable weather forecasting website) in hope of finding a couple of days of clear sunshine but alas! It was just rains and heavy winds through the last week of September. After a long bout of will-go-will-not-go, will-go it was! I decided I will reach the base of the trek a day before and based on the weather conditions the next day, would decide whether to undertake the ascent or not. The will-go required me to find the best way to get to Pulpit and the possible places to stay once I get there. After 2-3 hours of detailed research, everything considered, I decided to stay at Preikestolen Fjellstue (also known as Preikestolen Mountain Lodge). The best part about it was that it was located right at the starting point of the hike, so if the weather was good, I could just go right out and start the hike, no additional transport required! With accommodation done, I now needed to plan on how to reach the Preikestolen from Munich. Munich because I was supposed to meet an old friend there on my way to Norway. I basically had 2 options:
- Take a flight from Munich to Stavanger (the Norwegian town nearest to the Pulpit Rock) and reach Preikestolen Fjellstue from Stavanger
- Take a train from Munich to Stavanger and then carry on towards Preikestolen Fjellstue
With a 3 month continuous Eurail pass at my disposal and flight rates being northward of 150 euros, I went with option b which essentially meant signing up for a long long train journey.
The Unending Train Journey
Munich was all about nostalgia and memories over mulled wine. I was meeting one of my closest friends after 3 long years; we had a lot of catching up to do. After spending a couple of nights at my friend’s place, I started the ‘unending train journey’ at the Munich Hauptbahnof (central station).
Munich to Hamburg was the first leg of my journey. I reached Hamburg around 6:30 AM the next day. I grabbed a quick snack while waiting for my next train to Copenhagen. The station had a good number of Syrian refugees waiting to board that train. When the train arrived on the platform, it was chaos since everyone rushed to grab a seat. The conductor got some order to the chaos. Luckily I found myself a seat, with a couple of fellow Indians travelling on the same route. We had only started discussing about the various places we wanted to visit all over Europe when the conductor came to our seat and said “The train will now get on the ship, so you guys will have to disembark the train and find a place on the ship. The deck can be a great place if you want a view. Once we reach Denmark, there will be announcement asking all passengers to get back on the train post which the train will again disembark the ship. Any confusion?” Well, well, well! I had heard about motorcycles, cars and even buses being loaded on a ferry, but a train being rolled onto a ferry was something. As suggested by the conductor, I spent the next 45 mins at the deck soaking in the beautiful view. The train was back on the tracks and we were on our way to Copenhagen.
Since there was some technical error resulting in a delay, we reached Copenhagen an hour after the scheduled time. I will skip the details of my next 7 hours in this wonderful city and fast forward to 8:30 PM when I was back at the station to catch a train to Gothenburg. I lost count of the number of times I checked the weather in the hope of the rain and wind clearing to a sunny day and clear skies but the clouds and rains were showing no signs of going away. I felt like my determination to hike the Pulpit was being put to test! I had come a long way for this hike and I was not going to back down.
I had to wait at the Gothenburg station from 12 in the midnight to 4:30 in the morning to board my train to Oslo. On my train to Oslo, I slept like a log and someone had to wake me up when the train arrived at Oslo. From Oslo, it was an 8-hour train journey to Stavanger; it was the last leg of the journey, also one of the longest. By the time I boarded the train to Stavanger, I was exhausted but the breathtaking Norwegian scenery infused fresh energy into me. Also, the Norwegian trains are a class apart. They provide a pillow and a blanket (which you can take home as a souvenir) along with free WiFi.
The 8 hrs went by smoothly and I reached Stavanger around 5:30PM. I was famished and the first thing I did was to grab a pizza and a carton of chocolate milk. I walked around the town for 30 mins before heading to the ferry terminal to board a ferry to Tau. It was a 45 mins sail and with the sun setting, it was ethereal. From Tau I took a bus to Jørpeland (15 mins) and from Jørpeland I took a cab to Preikestolen Fjellstue (another 15 mins). The bus driver was extremely nice and arranged for a cab to take me to Preikestolen Fjellstue.
After 48 hours of a journey with multiple connections at odd hours, I had reached the base of the hike. The first thing I inquired at the reception was about the weather to which the receptionist replied “It’s cloudy and the winds are heavy but if you leave early morning you can complete it”. Not bad at all I thought. The chances were quite high and all I had to do was wake up early. I completed the check in formalities and went to my room. It was a lovely room with a comfy bed. I took a hot shower, set up an alarm for 6:30 AM and slid under the blankets dreaming about the Pulpit Rock, the fjords and the views.
The Hike
I woke up with the alarm and changed into my hiking gear. I had a light breakfast at the lodge. It had been 3 days since I had had a proper breakfast and this was a welcome change. With a water bottle and my camera bag, I started the hike at 7:45 AM. A couple of families who were also put up at the lodge started at the same time. For a few metres I was walking side by side with them till a sudden steep ascent left me huffing and puffing whereas it was a cake walk for the rest of group. My endurance and stamina, in fact the lack of it, was embarrassing, I made a mental note to start working out as soon as I got back home.
It is a moderate and well-marked trail courtesy the Nepalese Sherpa who helped upgrade it from the earlier one in 2013-14. The entire trail is marked with red colored T’s and has markers at regular intervals stating the distance traveled and the distance remaining to the final point. The hike is 3.8 kms and it takes about 2-3 hours (one way). Upto the mid-way the hike is fairly easy with great scenery and views around, post which there is a stretch of rocks and boulders which is a little tricky to climb. I was really surprised looking at the local Norwegians climbing this stretch with so much ease. I somehow made it past the boulders and took a small break to relax my tired muscles.
The scenery keeps on getting better with every step but nothing beats the moment when you first get a glimpse of the Lysefjord. Its so majestic and beautiful, that it made the entire hike worthwhile! The weather had become cloudy and the winds were very strong but that view of the majestic fjord had made my day. The last few steps towards the flat rock were extremely difficult. The winds had become so strong that even the locals were finding it difficult to walk. I took baby steps to reach the final point but it wasn’t possible to get near the edge of the cliff. I had never experienced such winds in my life. It was as if they were about to hurl me down the cliff. Despite all of that, I managed to remove my camera from its bag and click some pics of the amazing view around me. I spent around 30 mins at the top, beyond which it was impossible to stand the rough weather. I slowly made my decent towards the lodge. I reached the lodge around 2 PM.
What a journey it had been! Although I wasn’t able to capture the customary pic of the rock (from the height where you can actually see the flat top) I was way beyond happy. I collected my backpack from the lodge and took the exact same journey towards Stavanger (via taxi, bus and ferry). I had a night train to Oslo and a whole new adventure waiting!
How to reach Pulpit Rock from Oslo
From Oslo you first need to reach Stavanger. You can either take a flight (50 mins) or a train (which will take around 8 hours). If you have a Eurail Pass then only a nominal reservation fee of 5 euros is required for a seat on the train. Once you reach Stavanger, take a ferry to Tau. Its approximately 45 mins journey and will cost 5$ one way. From Tau you will need to take a bus to Jørpeland and then a cab from Jørpeland to Preikestolen Fjellstue . The buses are timed such that you can board them the moment you disembark the ferry.
If you want to stay in Stavanger, I would suggest you take an early morning bus to Preikestolen Fjellstue which is run by GoFjords. It costs around 45$ which is higher that the total price you will pay for the above mentioned route but will save you the planning.
Sincera Tip
- The best time to visit Pulpit Rock is from May to mid-September. The last week can go either way depending on the weather
- Do carry a jacket and wear good sports shoes with grip since a few stretches tend to be slippery
- The hike can be combined with a fjord cruise
- Although more demanding, do check out the other two famous hikes – Trolltunga and Kjeragbolten
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