Norway · Møre og Romsdal · Romsdalen
Trollstigen — Norway's Troll Ladder above Romsdalen
Profile of Trollstigen — 852m on Rv 63 with 11 hairpins climbing out of Romsdalen, a Norwegian National Tourist Route and one of Scandinavia's most-visited pass roads.
- Elevation
- 852 m
- Length
- 15 km (Rv 63, Åndalsnes–Valldal section)
- Max gradient
- 10%
- Season
- Late May to October (weather dependent)
- Surface
- Paved
Trollstigen, "the Troll Ladder", is an eleven-hairpin climb out of Romsdalen to the Stigrøra plateau at 852 metres. It opened in 1936 after eight summers of manual construction and sits today on Riksvei 63, one of Norway's National Tourist Routes. On a clear summer day it is the most-visited mountain road in Scandinavia.
History
The road was planned from 1916 as a link between the farming valley of Valldal and the railhead at Åndalsnes, cutting a three-day packhorse trip to a two-hour drive. Construction was entirely by hand and horse, and most of the dry-stone revetments holding the hairpins to the cliff still date from the 1930s. The route was opened by King Haakon VII on 31 July 1936.
Riding it
From the north the climb leaves Åndalsnes, runs up the Isterdalen valley past the vertical rock face of Trollveggen, and then enters the hairpin section proper at the foot of the Stigfossen waterfall. The falls cross the road twice on stone bridges before the gradient eases onto the summit plateau. From the south, the climb from Valldal is gentler and quieter, with most of the drama saved for the northern descent.
A cantilevered viewing platform at the summit, built in 2012, projects over the top hairpin and gives the best overview of the full 700-metre drop.
Status in 2026
Trollstigen has been closed to through traffic since a rockslide above Stigfossen in the summer of 2024. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) has staged protection and slope-stabilisation work scheduled to allow a partial reopening during the 2026 season. Check the official status before planning a visit.
Along the way
- Trollveggen — the Troll Wall, the tallest vertical rock face in Europe, rises 1,100 metres above the road at the foot of the climb.
- Stigfossen waterfall — drops 320 metres alongside the middle hairpins and crosses the road on stone bridges.
- Trollstigen plateau — the summit service building, viewing decks, café, and a short boardwalk out to the cliff edge.
- Valldal — strawberry-farming village at the south foot, the usual base for a same-day return.
- Ørnevegen — the Eagle Road above Geirangerfjord, the southern half of the Rv 63 Tourist Route.
- Trollstigen and Geiranger loop — the classic one-day pairing via the Linge–Eidsdal ferry.