Stavanger and Lysefjord · Moderate · Circular

Flørli stairs to Ternevatnet

Up the 4,444 wooden steps beside the old penstock at Flørli to Ternevatnet, and down the old navvies' path to the Lysefjord.

Distance
5.4 km (3.4 mi)
Ascent
736 m
Time
About 4 h 30 min
High point
740 m
Grade
Moderate

Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.

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Flørli stairs to Ternevatnet
Havardtl · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

Flørli has no road: you arrive by boat at the quay below the old power station. The wooden stairs start behind the hamlet and climb beside the penstock, 1,470 m long and 740 m high, to the dam at Ternevatnet. From the top the Rallarstien (the navvies' path), made by the men who built the power station more than a hundred years ago, leads down past cairns and over a field of stones, crosses the Flørliåa on a bridge and comes back through the woods to Flørli and the quay.

It is 5.4 km round with 736 m of ascent; allow about 4½ hours. The grade is Moderate by our reckoning of time, though DNT and Fjord Norway call it demanding: the stairs never let up and the path down is steep.

Walk up the stairs, not down: Fjord Norway warns against coming down them, as they are narrow and steep and you meet people climbing. It gives the season as mid-April to the end of October; in winter there is a risk of avalanches and of slipping on the steep slopes.

Boats between Lauvvik and Lysebotn call at Flørli, and tickets should be booked in high season. There is a guest jetty for private boats.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.

Good to know

  • 4,444 wooden steps beside the old penstock, 1,470 m long, climbing 740 m from the fjord to Ternevatnet
  • Down by the Rallarstien, the path the builders of the power station used more than 100 years ago
  • No road: Flørli is reached by boat on the Lysefjord, so book ahead in high season
  • Do not come down the stairs: they are narrow and steep

Getting there

Start: Flørli ferry quay. 59.01527, 6.43133

Directions to the start

Places to stay nearby

Rooms in and around Stavanger and Lysefjord: Booking.com → Expedia →

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Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.