Preikestolen and Kjerag sit on the same fjord, so on a map they look like neighbours. Pulpit Rock towers over the outer part of the Lysefjord, while the Kjerag boulder hangs above its inner end near Lysebotn.
The catch is that no road follows the water between them. Getting from one trailhead to the other means a long drive around the mountains or a slow ferry ride up the fjord, and that shapes every plan for doing both.
Here is how the two hikes compare, how long the transfer really takes, and when trying to fit both into a single day makes sense.
Two very different hikes on the same fjord
Preikestolen is the shorter, gentler of the pair. The round trip is about 8 kilometres with roughly 500 metres of climbing, and most people need four to five hours. The plateau sits 604 metres above the water.
Kjerag asks more of you. The route from Øygardstøl is about 11 kilometres out and back, with around 750 metres of ascent spread over three steep climbs. Most hikers need five to six hours in fair conditions.
Put them together and you are looking at close to 20 kilometres and about 1,250 metres of climbing. That is a big mountain day before you add a single minute of driving.
Our Preikestolen hike guide and Kjeragbolten hike guide walk through each trail in detail. This article is about the part in between.
How hard is the Kjerag hike compared with Pulpit Rock?
Preikestolen is usually graded medium. The path is rocky and steep in places, with long stretches of stone steps built by Nepalese Sherpas, but it is well trodden and easy to follow.
Kjerag is graded demanding. The three climbs cross bare granite slabs, and several hundred metres of chain help on the steepest sections. In rain the same rock turns slick, and the descent is where tired legs make mistakes.
Fitness is only part of it. A calm head on exposed rock matters too, especially near the boulder, which is wedged in a crack about 984 metres above the fjord. If anyone in your group struggles with heights, Preikestolen is the easier of the two to enjoy.
A useful rule of thumb: if Preikestolen left you sore and slow, give yourself a rest day before Kjerag rather than stacking them back to back.
Getting from Pulpit Rock to Kjerag by road
Since the Ryfast tunnels opened, Preikestolen has been an easy drive from Stavanger. Fjord Norway puts the trailhead about 20 minutes from Solbakk, where the tunnel comes out on the Ryfylke side.
Kjerag is another matter. The road to Øygardstøl comes in over the mountains from Sirdal, and Fjord Norway estimates about two and a half hours from Solbakk by that route. From the Preikestolen car park, plan on close to three hours behind the wheel.
The final stretch is Lysevegen, the mountain road above Lysebotn with its 27 hairpin bends. It closes in winter, and the Kjerag hike effectively closes with it, so check that the road is open if you travel early or late in the season.
Taking the ferry up the Lysefjord instead
The more scenic link is the tourist car ferry run by Rødne. In 2026 it sailed daily from 15 May to 30 September between Lauvvik and Lysebotn, taking about two and a half hours each way.
The morning departure left Lauvvik at 09:30 and reached Lysebotn at 11:55, with a second sailing in the afternoon. On the way in you pass beneath Preikestolen, which is a fine way to see the cliff from below.
Car space is limited and summer sailings fill up, so book well ahead. From the quay in Lysebotn it is about 7.5 kilometres up Lysevegen to Kjerag parking, which sits around 640 metres above sea level.
Timetables and stops change from year to year, so check the current season before you build a plan around a particular departure.
Can you do Pulpit Rock and Kjerag in one day?
It is possible, but only for strong hikers with a car, settled weather and long summer daylight. It is not a plan most people enjoy.
Here is what the day looks like. Start Preikestolen at first light and you might be back at the car by late morning. Add close to three hours of driving and you reach Øygardstøl in the early afternoon, with five or six hours of Kjerag still ahead.
That puts you back at Kjerag parking in the evening, a long way from Stavanger, with two big ascents in your legs. Any delay, from crowds on the Preikestolen steps to a shower on the granite, eats into the margin you need for a careful descent.
The ferry does not rescue the plan. Arriving in Lysebotn just before noon leaves no realistic way to hike Kjerag and still catch the evening sailing back, so a ferry day usually means one hike, not two.
If you only get one clear day, spend it on Kjerag. Wet granite changes that trail far more than drizzle changes Preikestolen.
A calmer two-day plan
Most visitors are better off splitting the hikes. One simple shape is Preikestolen on the first day, either early or in the afternoon once the morning rush thins, followed by Kjerag on the second.
Staying in or near Lysebotn the night before Kjerag puts you minutes from the trailhead. You can ride the ferry in, sleep at the head of the fjord, and drive out over Sirdal afterwards, which turns the transfer into part of the trip.
Without a car, the two days can run on buses from Stavanger. Go Fjords runs the Preikestolen Express, which reaches the trailhead in about an hour, as well as a separate Kjerag Express.
Leave a spare day if you can. West coast weather changes quickly, and a flexible plan lets you hike Kjerag on the dry day rather than the day you happened to book.
Kjerag guided hike or the express bus?
The Kjerag Express is transport, not a tour. In the 2026 season it left Stavanger at 07:45 and returned from Øygardstøl at 16:30, leaving about six hours for the hike.
It ran on weekends in June and September, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends in July and August. Tickets are sold online only, so buy them before the day.
Go Fjords describes the hike as unguided, with a well-marked path. That suits confident hikers who simply need a ride to the trailhead and back.
If you would rather have someone lead the way, Explore Lysefjorden offers a guided early-morning summer hike to Kjerag. Its Fjord Norway listing gives a season of 1 June to 31 August, groups of up to eight, a minimum age of 16 and a full day of about twelve and a half hours.
A guide makes most sense if you are unsure on exposed rock, travelling alone, or want local judgement on whether conditions suit the boulder. It does not make the climbs any shorter, so the fitness requirement stays the same.
What to pack when you link the two
Pack for Kjerag even on the Preikestolen day. That means boots with good grip on smooth rock, a waterproof shell, a warm layer, a hat and gloves, and more food and water than you think you need.
Neither trail has anywhere to buy food once you set off, and there are no toilets along either route. Use the facilities at the car park before you start.
A headlamp earns its place on a long linked day, and a charged phone with an offline map is worth carrying on both trails. Our day hike packing list covers the rest.
Keep a dry set of clothes in the car. After two fjord hikes and a long drive over the mountains, a warm, dry layer feels like real luxury.
Cover photo: Svein Magne Tunli, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About Erik Lindqvist
Erik Lindqvist is a Scandinavian trail guide and outdoor writer based in Norway. He has spent fifteen years hiking fjord paths, mountain ridges, and forest tracks across Norway, Sweden, and Iceland.
