Pulpit rock
and
Lysefjord near
Stavanger Norway
Fjords
and mountains near Stavanger Norway
Fjord Norway on the west coast
of Norway is world-famous, and rightly so. There are thousands of fjords,
all with different characteristics, but the contrast of
calm sea and
dramatic
mountains - often with
towering cliffs - is a trademark.
Lysefjord
Lysefjorden
is very close to Stavanger, with
daily sightseeing boat trips from Stavanger,
and car ferries to Lysebotn at the inner end of the fjord during the summer.
There is a popular
touring day trip with car
that takes this ferry from Stavanger, drives
up and over to Sirdal
and back to Stavanger.
Along the fjord you can look up at
Pulpit
Rock (called
Preikestolen
or Prekestolen in Norwegian) 604 metres above the water. Further along,
you can just see the boulder of
Kjeragbolten
1000 metres up. Base jumpers parachute from Kjerag during the summer.
Ryfylke
The
Ryfylke area is a unique mix of islands, fjords and mountains to the north
of Stavanger. Follow our route
island-hopping
to Sand and Sauda, then over the mountains to Røldal. From there, go west
to Haugesund, north to Odda and Hardanger, or east to Setesdal (and
Hovden)
or Telemark.
Hardanger
Hardangerfjord
is the big fjord between Haugesund and Bergen, which goes north east into
the mountains, with another arm - called
Sørfjorden
- which then cuts south to Odda. To the west of Sørfjorden is the Følgefonna
glacier and to the west is the vast wild plateau of
Hardangervidda
- but the
slopes of the fjord are lined with fruit orchards, and there is a
music
festival here in the spring.
Sognefjord
This longest of fjords is famous for many
reasons, including the
Flåm
railway and the Borgund stave church
