Three shades of the Pulpit Rock; sunset, sunrise and noon!

The iconic Pulpit Rock is growing in popularity, and more and more people are finding their way up the stone stairs. Positively, highly welcome wooden planks along the way occasionally replace them, as you will definitely feel the sensation of the rocks in your legs. But it’s definitely worth it!

The increasing popularity has its price, but also creates new thoughts. Sunrise Tours are also possible, either with a guide or on your own. I had not thought of that possibility until I heard about the trip to Outdoor Life Norway a while ago. Strangely enough, considering my fascination for sunrise and sunsets. Since I had walked to the Pulpit Rock earlier, I decided we could easily do it on our own this time as well. Since the weather was so lovely we brought sleeping bags and slept under the stars (or not really, as it never got properly dark). The idyll was impeccable with magical views over Pulpit Rock and the Lysefjord, with sunset colors lighting the sky. National Romanticism bubbled in my heart, to put it mildly.

I had prepared myself for almost everything. Dry change of clothes to the top as well as warmer clothes. Sleeping bag, sleeping mat, toilet paper and a bag to bring the trash down again, wet wipes, and a little bit of wine to celebrate when we reached the top. But the mosquitoes took me off guard. Unfortunately, mosquitoes love me, while I hate them! Luckily, my extra warm clothes included both a hat and a cloth to cover my neck, so I managed to slightly reduce the damage. Yet they succeeded sneaking in between, leaving approximately 30 mosquito bites only in my face, leaving me to look like a pimply teenager. Makes my appearance younger then, at least! Every cloud has a silver lining. Or something like that … I can only hope that development stops and do not bring me back to the year 1349…

Let’s get back to the beautiful. Our camp site for the night was slightly higher than the Pulpit Rock, a little away from the other peers who stayed outdoors. Since we are approaching midsummer, it was not ever really dark, it went gradually from sunset to sunrise. The latter colored the mountainside and trees golden, and the rays of the sun warmed both the morning dew and the early birds.

Down at the Pulpit Rock plateau, I felt the fearing sensation when I peeked over the edge. 604 meters down, the azure Lysefjord looked dead calm. I sat down and enjoyed the view. And the silence. Even the hum of mosquitoes around my ears had subsided. A magical moment!

The walk down was easier. Since we chose to go to the little hill to the right of the Pulpit Rock to get the view, we went a different way than the fine trail, but I think it’s a nice combination.

The sun was shining and the birds twittering. A wave of happiness washes through my body, and outshines the feeling of soreness in my legs.

Down at Preikestolshytten, you can buy the breakfast buffet, but since time began to run out, we went for the packed lunch offer instead, and packed a real Norwegian lunch including liver pate. Nice to enjoy in the sun before our next adventure started.

Rødne offers fjord cruise on the Lysefjord, so of course we had to try that as well. Since we were already at the “Pulpit Rock side” we chose to be picked up at Lysefjordsenteret by Oanes.

The boat ride through the narrow fjord has a nice balance of informative guiding and silence to enjoy nature. And performances of music by the Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King” and “Nocturne” by Secret Garden. It was a bit strange to see Pulpit Rock loom high above us, and think that I myself had sat up there, swinging my legs over the edge just hours earlier. Although the water was relatively flat, the national romantic waves came continuously.

The only thing missing was a Kvikk Lunch chocolate, but fortunately, they had a kiosk on board…

Facts:
Take the ferry over from Fiskepiren in Stavanger to Tau. From here, both Tide Reiser and Boreal offer bus up to Preikestolshytten, which is the starting point for the hike. Buy either single or return ticket. We stayed overnight outdoor up by the Pulpit Rock, but it is also accommodation at Preikestolshytten, in various price ranges.

The hike takes about 2 hours each way, and naturally depends on physical fitness.

If you wish to do the sunrise hike to the Pulpit Rock followed by a fjord cruise on the Lysefjord, Pelles reiser drive a minibus from Preikestolshytten to Oanes ferry quay. From there it is only a few minutes walk to Lysefjordsenteret, where it is possible to be picked up. Fjord cruise on the Lysefjord concludes in Stavanger.