Ljuse Fjord

Lusebotn

Lusebotn is a town at the furthest eastern end of the fjord. The population is mainly made up of workers from the two hydroelectric power plants that are nearby, Lyse and Tjodan. Both power plants are built into the rock. At Lyse, water falls on a turbine from a height of 620 meters and produces 210 MW of power. At Tjodan, the power is 110 MW when water falls from 896 meters. The two power plants provide electricity to more than 100,000 people.

The only road linking Lusebotn to the rest of the world makes 27 steep turns with an elevation gain of over 900 meters. One of the turns of the road passes through a tunnel. In the summer season, a tourist ferry runs twice a day between the towns of Lusebotn and Lauvik. During the journey along the fjord on the loudspeaker is conducted sightseeing tour in several languages – English, Norwegian, German. In the cafeteria of the ferry you can find free booklets with text in other languages, including Russian.

Hengyanefossen Waterfall

Often cruise ships stop briefly in the middle of the fjord for tourists to admire the Hengyanefossen Waterfall, but sometimes the captain guides the ship right under the jets of the waterfall! This 400-meter waterfall can also be seen if you hike through the mountains on the north shore of Ljuse Fjord.

Prekestulen (Preacher’s Chair)

The most famous tourist attraction of Lüse Fjord is Prekestulen Rock, looming at 604 meters. The rock is located on a flat high plateau with a total area of 600 square meters, and this relief was formed apparently about 10000 thousand years ago, during the melting of glaciers. You can enjoy the view of Prekestulen from the fjord if you take a pleasure boat or ferry from Stavanger, Lauvvik, Forsand or other places.

The top of the cliff is about 25 by 25 meters square and almost flat. The view from the cliff overhanging the fjord is magnificent, and because of it, the cliff is known as one of Norway’s top natural attractions. Prekestulen is one of the most visited places in the region. More than 100,000 people visit it each year.

According to an old legend, this giant cliff will collapse if 7 sisters marry 7 brothers from the same district (by district is meant one of the five unofficial regions of Norway). There is a 20-25 cm wide crack at the base of the platform. If one day this rock platform and collapses into the waters of the fjord, the split will pass through this crack.

Kjerag Rock

Kjerag is a plateau overlooking the Luce Fjord. Its highest point is 1084 meters above sea level. Most tourists climb Kjørag not so much for the beautiful views of the fjord, but to get to the “Pea Stone” or Kjøragbolton.

Kjøragbolton

Kjøragbolt is a huge cobble with a volume of about 5 m³ stuck between two vertical rock walls. It is a popular tourist spot. It is possible to reach the surface of the rock without climbing equipment, but the chasm under the rock is about a kilometer deep. In summer, when the weather is good, hundreds of tourists come here not only from abroad, but also from Norway itself.

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Eagle’s Nest

The journey to Kjørag begins at Øygardsstølen, which means “Eagle’s Nest” in Norwegian. A small cafe built about 500 meters above the Lyse Fjord. The road from Stavanger leads here. Next to the cafe there is a paid parking lot where tourists leave their cars when they climb Kjørag. Here you can also find an information board giving an idea of where to go and how far, as well as toilets and showers.

There is a steep road down to Lusebotn, consisting of 27 sharp turns. It is only open during the summer season. Øygardsstølen has an observation deck that offers a view of both the dangerous road and the town of Lusebotn itself.

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The staff of the cafe is 1-3 people, here you can buy water, sandwiches, change change to pay for parking. Do not expect that here you can seriously refresh yourself. You can also buy postcards with views of Ljuse Fjord and Kjoragbolton. You can send the postcard by mail by paying the cafe staff. However, this is a common practice for tourist places in Norway.

Flørli Village

Flørli is a small village near Kjerag Mountain. Its main attraction is an old power station with pipes running to the mountain lake and a long (4444 steps) staircase leading to the pipeline.

A permanent settlement at Fleurley dates back to the 17th century. It was probably a sawmill on the river Flørliåna (Flørliåna), to which was added a farmstead, which later grew into a farm. In 1708, a major landslide and rockfall completely destroyed the manor house. It was not until about a century later that the place became green again. The land then belonged to Kallali and was used exclusively for haying, grazing and felling wood.

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In 1802, Flørli was rebuilt and continued its farming activities until 1915-1920. In 1916, during the active construction of the hydroelectric plant, farming activities ceased at Fleurley and it became a small industrial village with its own school, store and post office.

Songgesangn Village

Songesann is a village on the north shore of the Lüse Fjord almost midway between Forsann and Lüsebotn. It is part of the municipality of Forsanne.

There is a land connection to Ordal and the municipality of Jelmelann (Norwegian: Hjelmeland). The village has its own marina.

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The village used to have up to 36 inhabitants, a post office and a school. The school finally closed in 1969. For the last few years before the final closure, it had only 3-4 schoolchildren.

Songesann received a new impetus for development in 1994, when ferries between Stavanger and Lusebotn began running regularly during the summer season.

Henyane

Henjane is a mountain on the northern shore of the fjord, near Prekestulen. The romantic legend of German Heinrich and Zicke is associated with this place. German Heinrich appeared on the fjord in 1915 and was fishing. One day he heard about a woman named Zikke who lived on the very top of Mount Henjane. He climbed up and lived with Zikke. They had a child who did not survive the first cold winter. Heinrich was engaged in moonshining, which was very profitable: moonshine was in great demand during the Prohibition in Norway (1921). In particular, moonshine was supplied to Stavanger. Today we can see a small stone jetty where Heinrich used to leave his boat and climb the mountain with the help of a winch. The same winch was used to hoist sugar up the mountain and bring moonshine down.

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After a lengthy investigation, the police managed to track down the moonshiner and Heinrich was expelled from the country and had his moonshine machine confiscated for this and many other illegal activities. After some time he returned to his Zicke. But after another scandal involving the sale of the boat, he disappeared forever. Zicke waited for him until his death, living all alone and poor on Mount Henyane.

The confiscated moonshine machine is still kept to this day. It can be seen at Oygartstühl, the starting point for the climb up Kjørag.

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Lüse Fjord Nature Center

There is a large aquarium here and many fish ponds right in the open air, meaning this nature center reproduces the Lüse Fjord in miniature. All cruise boats also visit the Luce Fjord Nature Center.

The old mill in Tau

The old mill complex in Tau consists of three well-preserved, fully equipped mill buildings, which are located on the waterfront in Tau, next to the new mill.

A former steamship wharf on the northern shore of the fjord. Today, only concrete remains can be seen here inside a small bay next to a creek flowing into the fjord. The first excursions to Prekestulen were organized back in the 1890s. The trail that all tourists use today to visit the plateau did not exist at that time. It was built through the rocky slopes a little later, at the same time passages were cut along the rocks and handrails were made. Since it was difficult to reach Pulpit Rock by land, excursions were led from here. A path led from Refsyu to the Prekestul hut. Today only rusty rebar sticking out of the rocks remains in its place.