Hike the northern part of Goksøyr

The scrawny, clumsy, curious, adorable and beautiful puffins of the island of Runde. Hundreds of them can be found on the island in the evenings between the end of May and August. Of course, no pain, no gain, because to get to their breeding grounds, you first have to overcome a few steep climbs. We combined the observation tour with a circular hike and were thus able to get wonderful views of the landscape. The puffins were the end and highlight of the hike. Based on what we had read beforehand, we didn't expect too much, for example, we thought that we would only see the cute things from far away. WRONG. Completely wrong. The pretty birds were close enough to touch and flew so close above our heads that we could hear their wings beating. What an incredibly beautiful experience. And so it's no surprise that we ended up completely losing track of time (which we couldn't care less about at the moment) and we watched the puffins go about their business until just before midnight. 🐧🐧

The puffins we're here to see are unfortunately only visible in the evening, starting at 9 p.m. at the earliest. This means we'll do the last part of this loop again tonight...if it doesn't rain too heavily. According to the campsite operator, this route is the only possible one. All other hiking trails are overgrown and not maintained as hiking trails. In the current situation, it's actually so wet that you'd need rubber boots to get through, and even on this trail, you sometimes sink into unpleasantly deep water. The locals complain loudly about misbehaving campers and day visitors: tourists who disrespect nature, who come here just for a selfie with puffins, who trespass on private property...please don't do that!!

Today we actually do lap after lap, which is quite a workout. At the northern tip of Runde lies Norway's fourth-oldest lighthouse. It's been in operation since 1767. We let it be just the view; there were still a few more meters of altitude to climb. We continued on to the summit of Rundebranden. Steady footing was required, as a gale-force wind was blowing. Afterward, we went back to see the puffins. The weather changed from sunshine to rain and then sunshine again. Through the binoculars, we could observe thousands of the small birds floating on the water, waiting to fly in with their prey. There were even more people out and about today, and around 8:30 p.m., we'd had enough, and we headed back.

Runde is southern Norway's largest bird cliff with more than 50,000 breeding pairs of seabirds. Even if you are not an ornithologist, it is wonderful to hike this windswept cliff. It is a fascinating landscape with many bird species and a fantastic view.

Went to the cliff again this evening to watch the puffins

Super nice tour around the island of Runde!😀 Very steep climb, but then a fantastic view of the landscape and in the respective bays you can see countless species of birds, including gannets, puffins and other bird colonies. Binoculars or a telephoto lens and patience are useful. The hike also makes sense in the late afternoon or late evening (it is light for a long time). Because then the puffins come back and you can see the cute little birds in the evening sun. It is best to park at the starting point of this trip in the car park. There are no other options in the town. Premium hike. If you don't have much time, you can choose the direct climb and route to Puffin Bay. The stated hiking time results from the long waiting and observation time. So it is much shorter.

We started at Goksøyr Camping. Directly behind it is the climb to the bird cliffs. There, right in a small wooden house, is the old watermill. The climb on asphalt was tough; I wished there were steps. 🥵 Then, however, it continued a bit more relaxed, over wooden walkways and stone steps. First, we saw the Kongshang Lighthouse, then we reached the gannet colony rock. Further along the circular trail, we came to the puffin cliffs. 'Runde is the largest bird island south of the Arctic Circle. The bird cliffs are located on the west side of Runde Mountain (Rundefjellet), where around 100,000-150,000 birds have their nests.' The return journey also took us along beautiful paths, this time with a very steep descent. A fantastic experience! 👌

The island of Runde is just six square kilometers in size and only around 100 people live there. In addition to about twice as many sheep, you will mainly find birds here. More than 50,000 seabird breeding pairs such as gannets, fulmars, cormorants and thirteen gulls nest here. The biggest highlight, however, are the puffins, which build their nests here in the scree.