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Fabulous Norway never ceases to attract travelers with its picturesque nature, unearthly beauty of the fjords, fresh air and crystal clear lakes. And since Troll's Tongue first appeared on the cover of a travel magazine, the flow of tourists to Norway has increased significantly.

Everyone wants to step onto this unique, and even dangerous ledge, and take in all the beauty of the opening view with their own eyes. And, of course, delightful, original photographs in the famous Troll Language - the dream of any avid traveler.

Description

Troll's Tongue is a rocky outcrop hanging over Lake Ringedalsvannet at an altitude of several hundred meters.

This is a piece of rock that once broke off from the massif of Mount Skjeggedal, but did not fall down, but froze above the abyss in a horizontal position. And since its shape resembles a large tongue, the Norwegians quickly came up with a suitable name for it.

It should be noted that Lake Ringedalsvannet is not of natural origin, but was formed as a result of the damming of a river. Quite wide at the base, the Troll's Tongue gradually tapers to a few centimeters. And its length is about 10 m. It is believed that being on its edge is dangerous, since it is unknown at what moment the block may fall down.

Where is it located?

Trolltunga, as it is called in the local dialect, refers to the Hardangerfjorden, the second longest in Norway and the third longest in the world. It is located 10 km from the small town of Odda in the Hordaland region of Western Norway.

How to get there?

It is most convenient to start the route to Trolltung from the capital of Hordaland county - the city of Bergen. Conventionally, the entire path can be divided into two parts, the intermediate point of which is the town of Odda. To get to Mount Skjeggedal you need to get to the small village of Tyssedal, which lies 6 km north of Odda in a valley between the fjord and the mountains.

After arriving at the place, the walking route begins. Previously, the first thousand meters of the ascent could be done by cable car, but now it does not work.

The ascent is carried out along the pedestrian path, which is located to the right of the funicular and is marked with a red letter “T”. Many tourists prefer to climb directly along the cable car's sleepers, despite the fact that this is prohibited.

The rest of the route passes through rough terrain with alternating climbs and plateaus. The total length of the route one way is about 12 km and takes on average 5 hours.

It is impossible to get lost, since along the entire route there are kilometer markers indicating how much is left to the Language.

Order an inexpensive transfer - taxi in Norway

You can get from Bergen to Odda either by car or by bus. The latter's travel time is about 4 hours.

The best way to get to your destination from Odda is by car. First to the village of Tyssedal along highway 13, and then following the signs for Sjöggedal. Travel time is 20-30 minutes.

There are free and paid parking lots at the foot of the mountain. A tourist bus also departs regularly from Odda, taking everyone to Mount Skjeggedal.

Renting a car in Norway

What to take with you?

You should not take too many things with you, the climb will already be exhausting, only the essentials.

Where to stay?

• After a difficult climb, make a long return trip highly undesirable. Therefore, for those traveling by car, the best option would be to stay in Tyssedal or a little further away - in Odde. The same advice can be given for those arriving by bus.
• To make it before dark, the climb to the Troll's Tongue should begin early in the morning. For this reason, some tourists prefer to spend the night right on the spot. Nearby there is a beautiful lake with crystal clear water where you can pitch a tent. There are also places for tents in the parking lot.
• It will be useful to know that in the middle of the route and at the observation deck There are special houses where you can wait out bad weather or spend the night if there is a chance you won’t be able to return before dark.

• When to go? The best time to visit Troll's Tongue is from June to October, when the weather is sunny and clear. During rainy periods, climbing the mountain can become dangerous, and the surface of the ledge itself will be wet and slippery. In winter, visiting Trolltung is also undesirable due to the deep snow.
• Use caution. Attention will be required not only on the ledge itself, but also on the way to it. You should also be especially careful when climbing the steps of the funicular if preference is given to this method of overcoming the first part of the route.
• Who is not recommended: Due to the difficulty, it is not recommended to climb for people with poor physical fitness. You should also not take small children on the route.

Troll's Tongue (Trolltunga) is an unusual stone ledge on Mount Skjeggedal, rising above the lake at an altitude of 350m. This famous and picturesque place is located near the city of Odda. The shape of the rock outcropping closely resembles a sharp tongue, which forms the first half of the name. But why a troll? The answer lies in an old Norwegian legend.

In ancient times, a huge troll lived on one of the mountains. He was so stupid that he constantly tested his fate: he dived into deep and dangerous waters, jumped over chasms, or tried to catch a rainbow over a cliff. There were rumors that the sun brought death to the creatures of the twilight world, including trolls. I decided to check it out. He hid in a cave, waited for dawn and stuck his tongue out of the darkness. The heavenly body did not appreciate such courage and as soon as the sun's rays touched it, the troll turned to stone.

Since then, this place has attracted travelers like moths to a flame, despite the fact that the path to the Troll’s Tongue is very difficult. For the sake of a successful shot, people are likened to the troll from the legend and greatly risk their lives: right on the ledge they do somersaults or stand on their hands, and sometimes professional extreme performances are even started here. There were cases when daredevils broke down and fell down. There were no survivors yet.

Moreover, the rock itself is so thinned by time that it can break off at any moment. But perhaps the increased risk is what makes Troll Tongue so popular. It’s very ironic: the troll is gone, but his work lives on.

VIDEO - Troll tongue, Norway

You might be interested:

• - the legend of the petrified troll

Trolltongue Mountain in Norway is one of the most legendary places on the planet. Even the photos of Troll Tongue are impressive - when you look at this natural beauty, it’s simply breathtaking! What can we say about live impressions - those who visited Trolltunga will never forget this climb, it evokes so many emotions!

Troll's Tongue Rock is a real miracle of nature. It is a large stone ledge above the lake, its shape actually somewhat reminiscent of a tongue - hence the strange name. This huge block of stone, which broke off from Mount Skjeggedal, was not heavy enough to fall down, and “hovered” over the surface of Lake Ringedalsvatn. This horizontal ledge is 10 meters long, but not everyone dares to approach its edge. This is indeed very dangerous, and accidents in the Troll Tongue, although not often, still happen. The account of Trolltung's fatal victims was opened by a 24-year-old student from Australia, who, making her way through the crowd to her friends, lost her balance and fell off the edge of the cliff. The height of the Troll's Tongue is 950 m above sea level, so the girl had no chance to survive. She flew about 200 meters, after which she crashed on the rocks. There had also been incidents before this, but the tourists were closer to the mountain and ended up with varying degrees of bruises.

Local residents said that this was quite natural. They warned that it was only a matter of time before someone fell down. After all, a huge number of tourists climb the mountain, who do not even observe basic safety measures, climb the “language” in crowds, often in a state of intoxication, and perform various tricks for selfies. Meanwhile, the rock becomes more dangerous every year due to thinning, and the risk of a repetition of the tragedy increases.

Legend of the Troll

The Troll's Tongue is associated with a beautiful legend about a huge Troll who lived here in time immemorial. But his stupidity was as great as his size: The Troll took unnecessary risks all the time: he jumped over large gorges, dived deep under water, tried to reach the Moon while standing on the edge of a cliff... But he could only frolic at night, because he heard that sunlight could kill him. And the Troll decided to check whether this is really so. Early in the morning, when the first rays of the sun had just risen, he stuck out his tongue from the cave where he had been hiding during the day. And at that very moment he became completely petrified.

How to get to Troll Tongue from Oslo?

There are several ways to get to Trolltongue from the capital of Norway. This is a bus, taxi, rented car. But I warn you that if you don’t know how to get to Troll Tongue by car, or prefer public transport in principle, the road will be no less difficult than the ascent itself. Therefore, I recommend looking at where Troll Tongue is located on the map, renting a car and going on a trip on your own.

By public transport from Oslo, you first need to get to the city of Odda (there are regular express trains, but you can get by train to Voss, and from there by bus to Odda. You can also get here by bus from Bergen (flight 930) and Skjeggedal (express “The Trolltunga-Preikestolen” ") For those who do not have experience of traveling independently, it is preferable to purchase a tour. If you take into account the total costs, including payment for parking, it is not much more expensive, but if you still use a rented car, please note that renting a place. parking will cost 66 Euros for one day, or 33 Euros if you leave the car during the day for no more than 16 hours.

Regarding planning the time for the trip, many advise setting aside two days. I am also inclined towards this, since it is quite difficult (especially without good physical preparation) to overcome the path to the beginning of the ascent, spend energy on the ascent and descent, and immediately set off back on the road. Therefore, it is convenient to book a place to stay for the night near the Troll Tongue, fortunately, there is a fairly large selection of accommodation in a wide price range. But keep in mind that permission to climb is limited in time - from mid-June to mid-September. At other times, due to unfavorable weather conditions, it will not be possible to conquer the Troll's Tongue.

Trekking length is 12 km one way. The hike takes from 6 to 8 hours in good weather, and can last up to 10-12 hours if weather conditions leave much to be desired. Be sure to bring some food with you (sandwiches, cookies). Hot tea in a thermos will also come in handy. Even if you go to Troll Tongue when it is very hot outside, take warm clothes and waterproof clothing. These simple measures will help make your trip to the Troll Tongue not only impressive, but also comfortable.

"Troll's Tongue" (Trolltunga - in Norwegian) is a rocky horizontal ledge on the Skjeggedal rock, which rises above Lake Ringedalsvatn at an altitude of 700 meters. The shape of the protrusion resembles a tongue, which is why it received its name. Thanks to this, the Troll's Tongue rock is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful and dangerous places in all of Norway.

This place became widely known after the publication of photos and an article in a travel magazine in 2009. After this, those wishing to see the miracle of nature increased significantly, and in order to visit the very edge of the Troll’s Tongue and take unique photos, you even have to stand in line.

This place is located in the vicinity of the town of Odda, where we arrived early in the morning. From there you need to get to the town of Tyssedal, where you will see signs along the road towards the parking lot, where the road to the Troll Tongue begins. In Odda, we stayed for several hours at a sports discount store, where we bought good things at low prices, so we arrived at the parking lot late from the planned time.

The route on this map is the top one. The road to “Language” starts from this parking lot and takes 14 kilometers. I used to think that it would be like an easy walk and I was very much mistaken. We met only one Russian-speaking tourists who said that they spent 2 days on this hike. One day in that direction, overnight and the second day back. It’s possible in one day, but you have to leave very early; the warning on the map says that you must complete the 7th kilometer before 13.00. We looked at the time - it was exactly noon. It was necessary to urgently decide whether to go or not, because an easy walk threatened to turn into a mountain race. Maxim immediately refused, and Denis and I would not have been able to forgive ourselves if we had been so close to this place and left without seeing it with our own eyes. In 10 minutes we collected the necessary things in a backpack - warm spare clothes, food, water, flashlights, food and ran upstairs.

The first 4 kilometers are a serpentine road to the upper parking lot. Lower parking cost 300 CZK, upper 500! It was insanely expensive, but even if we decided to overpay, there would still be construction work going on on this road and we would not be able to drive through.

Another option was to climb directly along the abandoned funicular, but part of the railway was missing.

This serpentine road is the most boring.

Therefore, we decided to speed up along the funicular road that appeared again. But I don't recommend repeating this.

Climbing it is very difficult and dangerous, although it saves about half an hour of time.

On the way we had to stop to rest, because... The gradient of the climb is very decent.

I still don’t understand how I decided to do this. It's better not to look back

We climb out to the upper parking lot through a hole in the fence.

And we follow the designations of the red letter “T”, it occurs often, so it is very difficult to lose the way.

Sometimes you can find such signs

And so everything is standard, follow the “T”.

Gorgeous views open from the pass

Don't forget to drink water along the way to avoid dehydration.

It is not necessary to take a lot of water with you; supplies can always be replenished in lakes and streams. The water is clean and very tasty.

It’s nice when you have to go through less than you already have. The next kilometer is one of the easiest, it is the most flat, but you need to carefully watch your step.

We begin to see Lake Ringedalsvatnet, it is above it that the vooooon stone hangs from that mountain on the left in the distant background.

On the way we meet many tourists who are already returning. Everyone says hello, very friendly and smiling. We didn't meet any Russians. One thoughtfully asked if we had flashlights so we could go back in the dark. When someone saw us running all the way, they started chanting “Russia”!

Minute stops to catch your breath and enjoy the beauty of Norway.

This one is apparently going overnight.

There are so many tourists walking along the path to the Troll's Tongue that it is easily distinguishable against the background of nature.

We are at cloud level - about 1200 meters above sea level. Low clouds are made up of water droplets, so there is a strong sense of humidity. There is no rain, but it feels like you are in a hammam. Water materialized on the camera lens and I had to constantly wipe it off.

There are several houses along the road that can be used in case of an emergency. The houses are open, where you can wait out the bad weather or spend the night.

This is where waterproof shoes come in handy.

Getting close. Another group of returning tourists.

This is the mountain lake Tyssehol. 1160 meters above sea level.

It’s amazing to me how you can spend the night in such conditions in the strongest wind. This tent is placed near a stone ledge so that it does not blow so much.

Especially when there is another house nearby where you can safely spend the night.

There is even a well-appointed toilet here, although for some reason it has no door...)

We see people taking pictures...

And here it is - Troll Tongue!

Trolltunga did not go unnoticed by Scandinavian legends and beliefs. One of them says that the huge Troll was childishly kind and playful - he could not sit in one place: he dived into deep and dangerous waters, jumped over abysses or tried to catch a rainbow over a cliff. And on sunny days that were dangerous for his life, he holed up in a cave until dark. One day the troll decided to check how dangerous the sun was for him. He hid in a cave, waited for dawn and stuck his tongue out of the darkness. The heavenly body did not appreciate such courage and as soon as the sun's rays touched it, the troll turned to stone...

I didn’t think there could be a queue here; even in such not the best weather we had to wait. I'm afraid to imagine how many people there are here in the summer. It took us 3 hours to get here from the very bottom. All this time we were running with minor stops. The ascent on foot would take about 5 hours.

As many different photographs as possible for memory.

These two were especially difficult

The fear was from the unpredictability of the wind, which either subsided or suddenly appeared with a sharp gust.

A different perspective on "Troll's Tongue".

We spent about an hour here, during which time we took several dozen photographs, had a snack and rested. Well, now it’s 14 kilometers back again, which, despite the greater simplicity due to the fact that instead of the first 7 km of ascent there is already a descent, was not easier, because... We're really tired. We also spent about 3 hours on the way back.

The total time investment for Troll's Tongue took approximately 7 hours, so I can say with great confidence that this is the hardest attraction I have ever reached. We returned the last kilometers already at dusk, so the warning that it is necessary to walk the 7th kilometer before one o'clock in the afternoon is very true. If you come here, I advise you to check the weather forecast and leave early. In bad weather, walking along this road is very dangerous.

After the ferry we jumped into the car and drove along the shore of Sørfjord. On the other side you can clearly see the beautiful Ednafossen waterfall.

At first it flows in one stream, then on the bare rock it divides into several branches - and again gathers before entering the fjord.

Quite quickly we reached Tyssedal, then along a narrow mountain serpentine road we climbed to the village of Skjeggeddal - and here the road ended. Further only on foot. The clouds are still clinging to the mountains, but the bluish whiteness of glaciers is already visible behind them.

To reach the Troll's Tongue - our goal today - it's a five-hour walk through the mountains. And this is only one way. Moreover, the most difficult part of the journey is at the beginning. The first 950 meters are a steep climb up the mountain. People also live at the top, and from the village there is a funicular, which, by the way, is one of the oldest in Europe. However, this building is private property, and it has not been turned on for tourists for a long time, only for locals and then very rarely and out of great need. Therefore, there are two options - walk along the stairs next to the funicular or climb the mountain along a path winding through the forest. According to experienced people, the first is much more difficult, since the muscles quickly become clogged from repeating the same movements. So we decided to follow the trail.

It was not an easy path. The path climbed upward, we were sweating and looked with envy at a local girl walking her dog - she and her Dalmatian easily overtook us and rushed up. The ascent was also complicated by the fact that a huge number of streams flow from the mountain, turning the soil underfoot into mud.

However, after about an hour and a half, we, not believing ourselves, found ourselves at the top, on a rocky mountain surface covered with moss. Then the road became easier - but it was still more than three hours to get to Language.

There is no path as such there - you can’t really trample anything in the bare stone. We determined the path by the red letters "T" written directly on the stones. You reach another such letter and turn your head, trying to find the next one. On the way there we hardly lost our way, but on the way back we got a little lost.

Despite the height, the sun was hot. We drank all the water we took with us on the first climb, but I knew that along the way we would meet many more streams and lakes with clean melt water. Therefore, thirst has passed us by.

The vegetation in those places is sparse. Although flowers also grow on stones.

And this photo puts some people in a stupor. :-) No, it's not snow. It’s just that from time to time along the way you come across huge blocks of marble overgrown with lichen.

Due to the difficult climb, not many tourists get here - it is unlikely that Tongue will be included in any tour of Norway. The landscape is completely deserted and deserted - you feel lost at the end of the world. But you shouldn’t yawn - you constantly have to go around the crevasses that go down into deep abysses.

It is better not to approach the edge - it is dangerous.

But from some points you can still see what’s below. In a mountain basin lies a beautiful lake with the unpronounceable name Ringedalsvatnet.

The Troll's tongue is not far away - people are starting to come across who left before us and are already wandering back. Everyone greets each other - it seems wonderful to see a person in this mountain desert. :-) And here is a real pointer - so that you don’t get lost before the decisive leap.

And finally, the Language itself. This is a huge piece of rock that broke off from Mount Skjeggedal and froze in a horizontal position above the lake. The spectacle is mesmerizing, we immediately forget about fatigue after a 5-hour climb.

Of course, we posed a lot in the Language itself - it was not for nothing that it took us so long to get to it. :-)

The place is amazing in its energy. I wanted to stay there longer, but the Hardangerfjord area is far from the Arctic, it gets dark here quite on time, and walking along mountain paths in the dark is not a very safe activity. Therefore, after having a small picnic and having a good time climbing around the Troll’s Tongue, we headed back.

On the way back, oddly enough, we met people still going to the Language. Almost all of them had huge backpacks, looked exhausted (oh, how sorry they were!) and clearly intended to spend the night in the mountains. However, one of the couples walked lightly. I commented out loud in surprise: “But for some reason these guys don’t have a tent!”, and they turned out to be Russians and answered: “Yes, we are without a tent. How long do we still have to go?” We told them that they had to walk for another three hours, and they would have time to get up before dark, but they would have to go down in pitch darkness, so it was better not to risk it. “We left the dog downstairs in the car, so we need to come back today,” they said, and I mentally twirled my finger at my temple.

The return was much easier for me personally than the ascent, but Anya, despite all her physical fitness and yoga classes, had the most difficult time. She endured the very last descent especially poorly - the ligaments in her knees could not withstand the load, and already in the car she began to feel sick. Based on the results, she concluded for herself that such mountain walks were not for her, but Natasha, Sigurd and I were completely delighted with the climb.

By the way, without trekking shoes to support your feet, such hikes are really difficult. All four of us were quite equipped in this sense, but not all travelers that day were ready. Already below, at the information board, we discovered a mini-cemetery of shoes that did not survive this 10-hour mountain walk. :-)