How To Avoid Crowds At Trolltunga (Multiple Options)

Trolltunga has become one of Norway’s staple natural attractions, and is become more and more popular for each year that passes. Both Norwegians and foreign tourists alike attempt the 12 hour hike to get to Trolltunga every summer, only to be greeted by a 2 hour queue to be able to go out and snap a photo at the plateau.

There are usually a big crowd of people at Trolltunga, but there are a few tricks you can apply to avoid crowds at Trolltunga. So, let’s look at how to beat the crowds!

The best method to avoid crowds at Trolltunga is to leave the day before and spend the night in a tent close to the top. Another option is to hike in the off-season, but this is not recommended unless you are an experienced hiker.

And that’s pretty much your only options. I really recommend the first one where you spend the night in a tent, so you won’t have to be greeted by the view seen on the photo below when you arrive at the end of the trail.

Trolltunga queue
The queue to get out to Trolltunga. Photo by Frankemann / CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to avoid crowds at Trolltunga by spending the night in a tent

The best strategy to avoid crowds at Trolltunga is to leave the day before, then pitch a tent somewhere close to the end of the trail. Spend the night there, then do the last part of the hike in the early morning hours the next day.

This method allows you to get to Trolltunga at 6 or 7 AM, way earlier than anyone can get there if they begin the hike the same morning!

Many people camp just south of Trolltunga. This requires you to do the entire hike the day before, but gives you a great opportunity to avoid crowds at Trolltunga since you will be one of the first ones to arrive there in the morning.

There are designated camping zones at Trolltunga

It’s important to keep in mind that there are certain limitations to where you can pitch a tent in the area close to Trolltunga. The area has vulnerable nature, allowing the municipality to put in “no camp” zones in certain places.

So please respect the signs that says where you can and cannot camp. The good news is that there are many spots where you can camp legally, as well as 4 different designated camp spots.

You are not required to stay at the designated camp spots (as long as you don’t camp at the no camp spots), but you are encouraged to. A nice bonus to staying at these camp places is that there are many other tourists there, so it’s a nice and social place to spend the night.

You can see the camp ban zones by clicking here.

Wild camping tent

Make sure to have decent equipment when tenting at Trolltunga

Trolltunga is not an easy hike, and neither is it an easy place to set up camp. You are pretty far up in the mountains, and it will be cold and windy, even in the middle of summer.

You need to have a good tent that is designed to being used for mountain hiking, and that can handle high winds. These are somewhat expensive, but they are absolutely required if you want to spend the night at a tent camp close to Trolltunga.

In addition, make sure to bring enough food and a bottle to fill water in, a good sleeping bag to keep you warm, and enough clothing to keep you warm and dry.

It’s important to keep in mind that there is a high chance of some rain at Trolltunga, so pack waterproof clothing and equipment if you can.

Also read: Is Trolltunga safe?

Trolltunga
A man at Trolltunga. Photo published with permission.

What about camping with a tour guide?

There are a few different tour guide companies that offer guided camping at Trolltunga. By participating in one of these, you get to avoid crowds at Trolltunga by getting up there before everyone else, but without the hassle of camping all by yourself.

A guided wild camping at Trolltunga typically includes a guide that brings the group up to the camp site, tent rental and food. It’s not the cheapest option, but it’s certainly a good deal if you want to avoid crowds at Trolltunga without buying your own mountain tent and bring your own meals.

You can avoid crowds at Trolltunga by hiking in the off-season (but it’s not recommended!)

It’s possible for experienced hikers to hike to Trolltunga in the off-season, and any time outside of June, July, August and September is considered off-season for this hike.

There will be little to no tourists at Trolltunga in the off-season, simply because it’s very difficult and dangerous to complete the hike at this time.

However, if you are an experienced hiker with knowledge, skills and equipment to handle patches of ice and snow, hiking in the off-season to avoid crowds at Trolltunga can be a good option.

One of the biggest issues with hiking to Trolltunga in the off-season is patches of ice that make the already difficult hike slippery and more dangerous.

In addition, the winters in Norway only has a few hours of daylight, so you need to do certain parts of the hike in complete darkness.

Again, I urge everyone to not choose this option, because it is very unsafe.

You might be tempted to avoid crowds at Trolltunga by hiking in the off-season, but it's not recommended.
Trolltunga in the off-season. Photo published with permission.

Can you hike early in the morning to avoid crowds at Trolltunga?

A common tip that is often given when asked how to beat crowds for certain hikes and places is to leave very early in the morning to get there before everyone else. The problem is just that everyone leaves for Trolltunga early, so there are crowds there even if you begin the hike at 5 AM!

The reason for this is that the hike is so long that it’s absolutely required to begin the hike in the early morning hours to be able to make it up and back again before it gets dark.

This means that you cannot easily avoid crowds at Trolltunga by starting the hike at Skjeggedal very early.

That said, if you start the hike at a crazy hour like 5 AM, then have a decent hiking pace, you will usually be among the first ones at the top. It won’t completely allow you to avoid the crowds at Trolltunga since there will be some others there, but it will be much less crowded if you get there early.

Trolltunga
Trolltunga is a popular tourist destination just outside Odda. Photo published with permission.

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