Trolltunga (or Troll Tongue) is an impressive rocky outcropping, effectively tongue-shaped, that rises on a cliff at a height of 700 meters above Lake Ringedalsvatnet, in the town of Skjeggedal, located in southern Norway.
The peculiar beauty of the place means that, despite its difficult access, the visits of people well prepared and willing to walk about four hours in an approximate ascent of 900 meters do not cease, a feat to be carried out, of course, between the months of June. and September, when the area is not invaded by the snows of the cold season .
Once you have completed this journey, in which, by the way, you will not have mobile phone coverage, the reward is the spectacular nature of the Troll Language, as well as the cliffs and the always snowy peaks of more than 1,500 meters of altitude that make up the environment .
It is one of those places that, because of its beauty and inaccessibility, are often among the targets of the most daring collectors of selfies and breathtaking videos who seek to impress acquaintances and strangers through social networks. Thus, a few years ago, specifically in 2015, the scene of an Englishman named Toby Segar doing a somersault in the air on the very tip of the rocky tongue became viral . But it is not advisable to take lightly the danger of climbing the Troll Tongue. Unfortunately, the adventure has been fatal in some cases, such as that of a young woman who fell into the void and died in the same place and that same year when she was trying to take a selfie.
It was formed in the Ice Age
The language , as well as all its surrounding landscape, was formed around 10,000 years ago, in the middle of the Ice Age, which makes the area spectacular. The panorama of the cliffs themselves or the profile of the glacial lakes and mountains is impressive. Which is why the hard walk there is much more entertaining; not in vain, the scenery accompanies at all times during that journey.
The name of Tongue of the Troll not only refers to the shape of the rock, but also to those creatures typical of Scandinavian mythology characterized by their ugly appearance, their malevolent temperament and the danger they represent for unsuspecting walkers, peculiarities especially exacerbated in the trolls of the mountains.
Once the traveler has known and enjoyed Trolltunga, it is also worth visiting the world-famous Preikestolen, a name that means “pulpit rock” (in fact, it is also known as The Pulpit) and that designates another high rocky ledge, quite wider, less dangerous (although, unfortunately, in 2013 the first tourist died here, a young Spanish man who fell from the top) and with equally overwhelming and open views of the fjords. This rock formation is more than 600 meters high and receives the visit of about 200,000 tourists every year. The closest major city is Stavanger, which in 2008 was the European Capital of Culture.
Image: Steinar Talmoen / Wikimedia / CC
