Week 269 · Lilletop · Trolltunga · Tyssedal · Odda · Norway
Lilletop
Upon more research and texting with local guides, the 10–12 hour hike for Trolltunga is in summer when a road is open to the top and most of the steep part of the hike is avoided. In May, that road is closed so the hike time is closer to 14–16 hours — the guide said "after you get to the plateau, you then put on your rented snowshoes (that you carried up the mountain) for a 5-mile each-way hike to the viewpoint." We read a review that the prior day was a 45-minute wait to get the "picture" on the Troll's tongue. We all were quickly losing interest.
We already had rented the AirBnB near the starting point for Trolltunga in Tyssedal (near Odda) so we stayed anyway, with the goal of visiting the national hydroelectric energy museum where you could get a decent view of the fjord. But the museum didn't open until late, so we were conflicted — until we checked into our AirBnB where the locals confirmed that Trolltunga was overrated and we could have a better viewpoint by driving to a spot near the top and hiking over to the hydro museum trail for a 2-hour round trip to Lilletop and a better view. So remember: the effort to Trolltunga is all about being in the picture — not the experience and view once there.
Trolltunga ("Troll's Tongue") is a rock ledge jutting horizontally out of a mountain approximately 700 metres above Lake Ringedalsvatnet near Odda. It was virtually unknown outside Norway until around 2010, when social media images began going viral. Visitor numbers surged from approximately 800 hikers annually in 2010 to over 80,000 by 2019 — a 100-fold increase in under a decade, driven almost entirely by the desire to recreate a specific photograph on the rock. The summer hike (when the access road is open) is 22–28 kilometres round trip with approximately 800 metres of elevation gain and takes 10–12 hours. When the access road is closed in early season, the distance and elevation increase significantly and snowshoes are required for the upper plateau. A management fee was introduced in 2019 to control crowds.
The locals confirmed Trolltunga was overrated and we could get a better viewpoint by driving to a spot near the top and hiking over to the hydro museum trail — a 2-hour round trip to Lilletop with a better view. The old waterfall was converted to hydroelectric in the early 1900s, so there were stairs and you could drive most of the way to the top.
Lilletop by far the better choice for us. The effort to Trolltunga is all about being in the picture — not the experience and view once there.
Nice dinner in Odda — evening of the 17th of May and town pretty much asleep at 9pm. We did meet a local physics teacher who Jake bonded with over kebabs. Unbelievable sunset — purple sky at 10:30pm was like a painting.
"The effort to Trolltunga is all about being in the picture — not the experience and view once there. Lilletop: 2km round trip with a better view. Far the better choice for us."