The reality of the rock: Thousands queue to get perfect 'solo' Instagram photo on Norway's famous Troll's Tongue

It is the ultimate Instagram daredevil tourist shot.

The Troll’s Tongue rock in Norway has become one of the must-have shots for any social media enthusiast when they go on holiday.

The stunning rock formation, which juts out into the skyline some 1,100 metres above sea level and over the Ringedalsvatnet lake below has become one of the most recognisable locations of the smartphone era.

For those who have never been there it seems like an image from another age of travelling, set in a remote Norwegian location unreachable for many.

And thousands each year get a picture seemingly showing them alone on the rock.

But the truth is somewhat different.

The rock has now become so popular that patient tourists are walking and queuing for up to six hours with hundreds, and hundreds, of others just to spend a few precious seconds on the rock and snatch that all-important photograph.

New – very unfiltered – pictures have emerged of what tourists have to go through to get that once-in-a-lifetime shot.

The photographs show the enormous queues which form every day as eager tourists wait to climb on the Troll’s Tongue and get the all-important image.

‘The record this year was 1839 visitors in one day. If everybody took only one minute at the top, it would have taken more than 30 hours for everybody to stand there,’ said Kenneth Warvik, who works as a tourist guide on the rock.

‘So everybody has to wait there, then walk up to Trolltunga, get their shot and hurry back down.’

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The social media age seems to be the reason why the ‘Trolltunga’, located in south-west Norway, some 120 from the town of Bergen, has become so popular.

Its internet fame has become so vast that tens of thousands more visitors are reaching the site each year.

Up until 2010, fewer than 800 people hiked to the rock each year.

Last year 2016 more than 80,000 people visited.

‘There is a safety problem with the waiting time, since a lot of people normally use the same amount of time to get down,’ added Warvik.

‘A lot of people run out of energy or they don’t get down before it does dark.

‘It is difficult for tourists to know how demanding the hike can be. You need to bring a lot of food and extra clothes.

‘I think Norwegians are surprised when they visit and see all the people and all the rubbish. It’s not authentic Norwegian nature that a lot of people expect.’

This year, guides such as Warvik have opened new routes to the Troll’s Tongue, so as to reduce crowds on the most popular hikes.

The hike is a 20-mile round trip, beginning at nearby Skjeggedal.