Trollstigen

Trollstigen, the Troll's Ladder, is a dramatic mountain road that climbs a near-vertical wall in eleven tight hairpin bends, past the Stigfossen waterfall that tumbles down the same face. At the top, cantilevered viewing platforms hang out over the void for a look straight down the twisting road you have just climbed.

Background

King Haakon VII opened the road on 31 July 1936 after eight years of construction. It forms part of County Road 63 between Åndalsnes and Valldal and climbs at a gradient of 10% to a pass at approximately 850 metres. Stigfossen drops 320 metres down the mountainside beside it. The car park and viewing balconies sit on a plateau at 700 metres, and a large visitor facility with a restaurant was finished in 2012. In 2005 about 16 million Norwegian kroner went into rockfall protection and safety work. Vehicles over 12.4 metres long are not allowed. At the height of the season about 2,500 vehicles a day pass, and the 2012 season counted 161,421.

Source: Wikipedia, "Trollstigen"

What's there

• The eleven hairpins - the road switchbacking up the sheer mountain wall.
• Stigfossen waterfall - the falls crashing down beside the road.
• The viewing platforms - the cantilevered lookouts jutting over the drop.
• The valley view - the green valley and peaks from the top.

When to go

Late spring to autumn, since the road is closed by snow in winter and often into May. Early or late in the day avoids the peak coach and cruise traffic on the narrow bends.

What to expect

The road is narrow, steep and busy in summer, so driving it demands care and patience behind buses and campervans. It closes entirely in winter and can open late. The top viewpoints are the reward, but the drive itself is the experience.

Nearby

Andalsnes and the Romsdalen valley lie below; the Geirangerfjord is reached over the mountains beyond.

Key facts