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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.