How long is the Trolltunga hike?

How long does it take to hike Trolltunga?

About 7 to 10 hours from P3 Mågelitopp (20 km return), 8 to 12 hours from P2 Skjeggedal (27 km) and about 15 hours from P1 Tyssedal (38 km).

The three starting points side by side, with the 2026 prices from the official parking page:

Most hikers park at P2 and take the Road Bus up to P3, which costs NOK 150 up and NOK 100 down in 2026. Starting at P3 saves 1 to 1.5 hours each way, according to the shuttle page. Other sources stretch the P2 time: Visit Norway says to plan 10 to 12 hours from Skjeggedal including breaks, and DNT's ut.no gives 27.5 km and 10 hours.

How far is Trolltunga from the car park?

About 10 km one way from P3. From P2 you first climb the 4.3 km paved road to P3, which takes a bit more than an hour on foot.

The trail from P3 is marked with red T's and has a clear shape. Here is the order you meet things, taken from the official route description:

• The valley and Gryteskaret: level at first, then a long, steep, rocky climb to the Gryteskaret pass, about 45 minutes in.
• Trombeskar: another steep climb into a grassy valley past a small lake.
• Store Floren: a short descent with the first view of Ringedalsvatnet. The Floren emergency shelter sits here, roughly halfway.
• The plateau: Hestaflåene, then bridges over the Endåen river. Flatter, but never truly flat.
• Endanuten and Tyssehøl: a last steep climb, then an old riverbed and a dam.
• Trolltunga: the trail narrows, and four iron steps lead down onto the rock, 700 m above the lake.

What does a realistic day from P3 look like?

Roughly 4 to 4.5 hours out, an hour at the rock, and 3.5 to 4 hours back. Here is a sample timetable for a steady hiker.

This is our planning example built on the official figures, not a timetable anyone publishes. It assumes the first morning bus, a moving pace a little under 3 km/h on rock, and short breaks.

Slower walkers should add two hours and still make the last bus. Fast hikers do it in under 7 hours, but few groups hold that pace, and the queue alone can eat an hour.

How fast do you need to walk?

About 2 to 3 km per hour overall, breaks included. That sounds slow until you see the rock slabs, the steps and the climbs.

The official 7 to 10 hours for 20 km works out at 2 to 2.9 km/h for the whole day. On a flat path you'd walk twice that. Here, the ground is uneven granite, wet in places, with 800 m of total ascent from P3 and the same back down.

The descent is slower than people expect. Trolltunga AS warns that the walk down "often feels longer and more demanding than expected", and its ranger page says many accidents happen on the return, when legs are tired. Keep something in reserve for it. How hard the hike is covers the climbs in detail.

What time should you start the Trolltunga hike?

Before 8 am. The first Road Bus leaves P2 at 06:30 from 8 June to 31 August, and at 07:00 in September.

Visit Norway says to start before 8 am so you are back before dark. Trolltunga AS just says start early, and its mountain rangers turn back hikers who are badly equipped or set off too late (Euromontana reports this). The morning bus window closes at 11:00, which tells you the latest sensible start.

Do the sums for an 11:00 bus: you then have eight hours to walk 20 km, queue and catch the last bus down at 19:00. Fit hikers can. Most should not. If you can only start late, book an overnight trip and see the rock at sunset instead: camping and sunrise at Trolltunga.

Meet the guide at 07:30 in Skjeggedal, ride up to P3 and walk the 20 km with poles, spikes and someone who knows the turnaround time.

★ 4.8 · 10 hours · from $183

Explore the guided summer day hike → Tour details

When is the last bus down from Mågelitopp?

19:00. The afternoon buses from P3 down to P2 run from 14:30 to 19:00, drop-in only, in the 2026 season (8 June to 27 September).

The Road Bus has two windows a day, with a gap at midday. These are the 2026 times from the official shuttle page:

Two traps. Tickets down are bought at the P2 ticket office, and you can't pre-book them from P3. And if you rely on the Odda shuttle home, its last run from P2 is 18:00 for most of the season (19:15 only from 20 June to 17 August), so aim for a bus down from P3 by about 17:30. Miss the bus and you walk the 4.3 km road. The road itself closes to cars from 21:00 to 06:00.

How long does it take from P2 or P1 without the shuttle?

From P2 on foot, add the 4.3 km road each way: the official total is 27 km and 8 to 12 hours. From P1 it is 38 km and about 15 hours, which is too long for most people as a day hike.

Walking from P2 makes sense outside the shuttle season, or if you'd rather not depend on a bus timetable. The road climbs 400 m and is paved, so it's dull rather than hard. P1 is the cheap car park in Tyssedal (NOK 330 a day) and is open all year. Most people who park there take the Odda shuttle from P1 up to P2 (NOK 150 one way in 2026) rather than walk.

One more 2026 lesson: the road from P1 to P2 was closed to all traffic until 8 June because of rockslide risk, and walking past the barriers was not allowed. Check the road before you plan a June hike; the road closure post has what happened and where to look.

How much time should you allow for the photo queue?

30 to 45 minutes around midday on weekdays, and 60 to 90 minutes on Saturdays, in the peak from about 20 June to 20 August.

The official photo-queue page gives those figures and names the worst slots: 12:00 to 15:00, Saturdays, and the first sunny day after several days of rain. Early morning and late afternoon usually have little or no queue. A ranger walks out around midday to organise the line.

Skip the Saturday if you can. Arriving at 11:30 on a Tuesday is a different day from arriving at 13:00 on a Saturday. Or go late: the overnight trips reach the rock around 17:00, when the day hikers have turned back.

Reach the rock around 17:00 when the crowds have gone, sleep in a tent nearby and go back at sunrise. Tent, sleeping bag and meals included.

★ 4.9 · 27 hours · from $516

Explore the overnight camping hike → Tour details

Frequently asked questions