Mountains of Norway are no wonder full of beautiful, surreal vistas. Trolltunga, Troll’s Tongue (Tunga) in English, is one of them.
Located in the Hordaland county famous for its’ fjords, Trolltunga is 700 meters off the ground, and overlooks the beautiful, icy blue lake of Ringedalsvatnet.
Although this unique piece of rock is very well worth a visit, getting to it can be quite demanding. There are no car roads or such connecting directly to the rock so as to not to harm the natural environment. Instead, if you want to visit this iconic vista, you have to endure a ten, twelve-hour hike from the village of Skjeggedal through rough terrain.
Hiking to Trolltunga is nearly not possible and not advised in the Winter. Even in summertime, if the previous winter was a hard one, the trail up to the mountains can be covered in snow. From late spring to late summer, you can find guided tours, or staring from summer, you can decide to embark on the hike yourself.
Norwegian authorities conduct search-and-rescue missions for an average of twenty people each year, related to Trolltunga. None of these actually occur on the Trolltunga, but on the trail. Nevertheless, the grueling hike does not stop the vista-seeking hikers from reaching the Trolltunga and taking the coolest photos possible.
Speaking of cool photos, Magnus Midtbo, a professional Norwegian rock climber, recently went up to the Trolltunga, and decided to take a photo of himself hanging from the lip of the rock formation. The photo was met with quite mixed views in the Norwegian community, as Norwegians called out Magnus for being “irresponsible” and influencing dangerous behavior by hanging from the rock with no protection. Magnus then went on to explain that he has used a set of ropes to secure himself, and then edited the ropes out from the picture to make it look even better.
Even if you do not plan on (and you shouldn’t) hanging from the tip of the rock, Trolltunga is surely one of the most interesting and stunning vistas to be found in Norway.
