Kjeragbolten rock. The Stone of Love. A round block wedged solidly in the crevice of the Kjerag Mountain, almost one kilometer above sea level. The rock between two cliffs is rapidly becoming one of Norway’s most popular hiking destinations for testing one’s bravery.

It may demand some nerves and a giant leap of faith while you try to hold yourself together and refrain from looking down, at the gaping mouth of the abyss. One slippage and your Kjeragbolten accident could only be fatal.

The egg-shaped rock you are about to step on will become your crowning platform while, maybe like Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince, you discover a whole new world of courage and survival. Your planet is Kjeragbolten boulder, and you are smiling for the camera, maybe even laughing in death’s face.

Kjeragbolten, the Stone Bridge of Norway for some, and the Stone of Love for others, is possibly the most famous rock in the country, competing for the тιтle with the likes of Preikestolen and Trolltunga (Norwegian alternative to the Potato Chip Rock).

Are you up for the Kjerag trek challenge? Do you have what it takes to step on the hanging Kjerag rock? Are you willing to testify your devotion while standing on Norway’s Stone of Love?

Kjeragbolten Rock between two cliffs in Norway – the chicken or the egg dilemma

If mountains were laying eggs, this would probably be the most unusual nest of all. The rock wedged between two cliffs is on the southern side of Lysefjord, Norway. It balances above a daunting drop.

‘So, how was Kjeragbolten formed?’, you ask a perfectly valid question. Kjerag boulder is an unusual result of a usual geological process. The five-cubic-meter rock was deposited during the last glacial period, estimated at 50,000 BC. In the continuous alternating game of melting of the Norwegian Glacier and flooding of the valleys, this rock got jammed in the rock formation that many millenniums later promoted it into a prime tourist attraction.

Suspended above the kilometer-deep chasm, Kjeragbolten rock is a seductive spot for taking daredevil pictures. It is a stone bridge of Norway that tests the courage of its visitors.

In an adapted version of the old dilemma about the chicken and the egg, people are queuing in long lines to step on Kjerag. After waiting, which could last anywhere between a few minutes and an hour, just before their moment to step on the stone egg arrives, some of the hikers simply – chicken out.

Why is Kjeragbolten nicknamed Norway’s Stone of Love?

In recent years, new urban legends formed around the most famous Kjerag boulder. One of these says that a couple that manages to stand together on Kjeragbolten can count on eternal love.

This is the reason why the rock became known as the Stone of Love of Norway, where many daring duos try to share a kiss, a hug, or at least constricted space, in the hope of getting the blessing by the Cupid of cliffs.

Of course, there is something rather obvious about this legend. Couples that do not manage to conquer the challenge of the romantic rock cannot count on a lifetime of love and happiness, simply because, well… They are not around to tell us that, are they?

Lonely boulders in the shaggy mountain

Kjerag got its name probably by combining the words kje (kid) and rag (goat’s hair). It might be that the shaggy-looking surface of the rough mountainside reminded Norwegians of goat babies’ hair.

I haven’t seen any goats, but quite a few sheep were using the gorgeous valleys as the grazing ground. They were bravely jumping from one rock to another, not caring at all about the fact that humans marked this hiking route – as advanced. Sheep’s bells were added to the idyllic atmosphere, heightened by the wooden pathways and streams cutting through the green carpet-looking meadows. The scene did look like a painting, but trust me: Saint-Exupéry did not draw the sheep, they were real!

Kjerag looked like a perfect free camping setting. There were indeed some hikers setting up their tents along the way. Spending a day and a night in this fascinating mountain must be a special experience.

However, there were no trees on the path, so one shouldn’t expect to find shade on the Mount Kjerag hike. Some more mᴀssive boulders offered the only shadow one could find on the way.