Preikestolen

Preikestolen or Prekestolen (English: «Preacher's Pulpit», «Preacher’s Chair» or «Pulpit Rock'») is a tourist attraction in the municipality of Forsand in Rogaland county, Norway. Preikestolen is a steep cliff which rises 604 metres (1,982 ft) above the Lysefjorden. Atop the cliff, there is an almost flat top of approximately 25 by 25 metres (82 ft × 82 ft). It sits on the north side of the fjord, opposite the Kjerag plateau, located on the south side.

Tourism at the site has been increasing in the early 21st century, with between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors in 2012, making it one of the most visited natural tourist attractions in Norway. BASE jumpers often leap from the cliff. Due to its increased popularity, there is currently[when?] a project under way to improve the path to the site, which is only accessible via a 3.8-kilometre (2.4 mi) long hike.

Name

The old local name of the site is Hyvlatonnå (English: Planed Tooth). The name Prekestolen (without the i) was coined around the year 1900 when the local tourist organisation, Stavanger Turistforening [no] wanted to promote the site for trekking. The "i" was added later to concord with Nynorsk, the official local form of Norwegian, and the site is now known both locally and officially as "Preikestolen."

Access

Preikestolen is located in the southern part of the Ryfylke district in Rogaland county in Western Norway. The city of Stavanger, the fourth largest in Norway, with a number of direct flights between European cities, is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the site, and the parking facility for Preikestolen is located about one hour from Stavanger by ferry and car.

Access to Preikestolen from Stavanger is via the Norwegian National Road 13 (Rv13) and the ferry from Tau. From the south, access is by the Rv13 through Sandnes via the ferry from Lauvvika to Oanes. The road is usually open and the ferries running year-round. However, due to snow, it is not always possible to do the hike to the top in the winter.

The road to...