Åndalsnes: Troll Road & Troll Wall Day Tour with Guide

4.71

(144 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

What is it about Norwegian place names? I kept tripping over “Trollstigen” in my head as we left Åndalsnes, half-distracted by the way the clouds hung low over the mountains. Our guide, Erik, had this easy laugh — he said you could always tell who was local by how they pronounced “Romsdalshorn.” I tried it once and got a sympathetic smile. We started at the Norwegian Mountaineering Centre (Norsk Tindesenter), which is sort of a shrine to people braver than me. There’s this film called “Trollfolk” — honestly, I expected something kitschy but it was weirdly moving, watching old black-and-white clips of climbers on those impossible rock faces.

The bus climbed slowly toward the base of Stigfossen waterfall — you hear it before you see it, this low roar that cuts through any conversation. The air tasted cold and sharp, even in June. There was a photo stop where everyone shuffled out and just stood there for a minute, not really talking. I guess sometimes you don’t need words when you’re staring at something that big. Then came the famous Troll Road — 11 hairpin turns up a mountain that looks like it was drawn by someone who hates straight lines. Erik told us stories about the King, Queen, and Bishop peaks watching over us; I liked that idea, even if I couldn’t tell which was which from down below.

I wish I could say I wasn’t nervous on those bends — but yeah, my palms were sweaty. At the top there’s usually a platform to look back down at the valley and see where you’ve come from (though this season we couldn’t get up there because of rockfall risk — safety first). Still, just being near those cliffs felt huge somehow. On the way back we stopped at Trollveggen — Europe’s tallest vertical rock wall. It’s hard to describe how small you feel standing under something like that; even Erik seemed quieter than usual.

I still think about that moment when everyone fell silent by the waterfall — just cold spray on your face and this sense of being somewhere ancient. If you’re looking for a day trip from Åndalsnes with real stories (and not just scenery), this one sticks with you longer than you’d expect.