Vøringsfossen

If you type "Vøringsfossen Waterfall" into Google Maps and follow it blindly, there's a decent chance you'll end up standing in a car park in Eidfjord, looking at a cruise ship, a supermarket and a row of restaurants — and no waterfall in sight. We know this because it happened to us. Vøringsfossen is one of Norway's most photographed natural landmarks, and for good reason. But it sits a fair way outside the village that shares its postcode, and the signage between the two can be confusing if you don't know what you're looking for. Here's what we learned getting there twice, once from the top and once from the bottom, plus the facts worth knowing before you go. Wait, This Isn't the Waterfall Eidfjord itself is a small, pretty fjordside town, and it's easy to assume the waterfall must be somewhere nearby. It isn't. When we asked a man directing car park traffic where Vøringsfossen actually was, he laughed and said something to the effect of "just a little further, you'll be there in a flash." What he meant, it turned out, was another twenty-odd minutes of driving. That distance checks out. Vøringsfossen sits at the top of the Måbødalen valley, around 20 to 25 minutes from Eidfjord village along Norwegian National Road 7, climbing up onto the edge of the Hardangervidda plateau. Eidfjord is the nearest town with services — fuel, food, a supermarket — but the waterfall itself is a separate destination entirely, and your navigation app needs a more specific target than the town name. Where to Actually Point Your Sat Nav Two names solved the problem for us: Fossli Hotel and Fossatromma. Both sit right at the waterfall, on opposite sides of the gorge, and either one will get you to a proper car park rather than a random layby. We went with Fossatromma. The car park there is large, there are public toilets, and a clearly marked path leads out to the viewpoints from there. We arrived around six in the evening, and the walk from the car to the first proper view of the falls took only a few minutes. That's the other pleasant surprise about Vøringsfossen — unlike a lot of Norway's big waterfalls, it doesn't demand a long hike to get a spectacular view. Fossli, on the far side, gives a different angle and sits beside the old Fossli Hotel, which has been welcoming waterfall-chasers since the 1890s. A footbridge opened across the gorge in 2020, with a 47-metre span and 99 steps, suspended around 50 metres above the falling water, and it now links several of the main viewpoints — Fossatromma, Fossli, and a couple of smaller lookouts to the north and west. It's worth checking ahead of a visit, since it has occasionally been partially closed. So How Tall Is It, Really? We did the thing every parent does at a big waterfall and got asked "how tall is this?" by our daughter, standing right there. The honest answer took a bit of digging afterwards, because the number depends on how you count it. Vøringsfossen's total drop is 182 metres from top to bottom, a figure confirmed by both Fjord Norway and the regional tourism board Kringom, which has traced the height measurement back to arguments between a Norwegian astronomy professor and a hotel owner in the 1800s, each convinced the other had it wrong. Of that total, the final sheer plunge — the bit that actually looks like it's falling straight down into the valley — is around 145 metres, with the rest made up of a series of smaller drops and rapids above it. What the numbers don't capture is the light. We arrived in early evening sun with spray still drifting off the falls, and a double rainbow had formed right across the gorge. If you visit on a clear, sunny afternoon, it's genuinely likely you'll see one too — the combination of spray, height and afternoon light makes it a fairly reliable feature here, not a lucky one-off. The Quieter Way In: Hiking Up From the Valley Floor Most visitors only ever see Vøringsfossen from the top, at Fossli or Fossatromma. There's a second, much less crowded way to experience it: hiking up from the bottom of Måbødalen. The starting point for this route is signposted as the Vøringsfossen bottom hike car park, on Hardangervidda 1080, near the settlement of Vøringsfoss. Coach parties can leave their bus here too. From the car park, a path drops down beside the road and follows old trail markers into the valley. Along the way there are signs warning that water levels downstream can rise without much notice, because the river feeding the falls is regulated by an upstream reservoir on the Hardangervidda — when the operators release water, the flow further down can change quickly. It's worth taking those signs seriously and keeping some distance from the water's edge. The round trip runs to roughly two hours, and it's not a gentle stroll — expect a rocky, uneven path rather than a groomed trail. At the far end there's an old suspension bridge, which has been partially closed for some time, so most hikers now get as far as the bridge and view the falls from there rather than crossing it. Even without crossing, the perspective looking up at Vøringsfossen from near valley level is dramatic, and on a sunny day the same rainbow effect shows up here too. Planning Your Visit Vøringsfossen rewards giving it more than a quick photo stop. If you're taking the upper route, a couple of hours is enough to walk between viewpoints and cross the bridge if it's open. Add the bottom hike and you're looking at half a day, once you include the walk down, the walk back up, and time to simply sit and look at it, which we found harder to leave than expected. If you don't have a car, Vøringsfossen can still be reached from Eidfjord by public bus in summer, combined with a shorter shuttle service closer to the falls — check Skyss for current timetables before you go, since summer-only routes change year to year. Whichever way you arrive, budget time afterwards to sit by the fjord in Eidfjord itself; after the noise and spray of the waterfall, it's a genuinely nice way to slow back down before driving on. For more waterfalls worth building a Norway itinerary around, browse our full Norwegian waterfalls collection, or check the blog for more hiking notes like this one. Quick Answers How tall is Vøringsfossen? Its total drop is 182 metres, with a final sheer plunge of around 145 metres. Where is Vøringsfossen located? At the top of the Måbødalen valley in Eidfjord Municipality, Vestland county, roughly 20–25 minutes' drive from Eidfjord village on National Road 7. What should I search for in GPS to find it? "Fossli Hotel" or "Fossatromma" — not "Eidfjord," which will only get you to the village, not the waterfall. Is there a hike to the bottom of the waterfall? Yes. A separate trail starts near Vøringsfoss and drops into Måbødalen, roughly two hours round trip on a rocky path, ending near an old suspension bridge. Is Vøringsfossen suitable for kids? The top viewpoints are close to the car park and reasonably accessible, though there are steep drops and warning signs about sudden water level changes, so keep a close eye on children near any edge.