About AEdnafossen and the Folgefonna Waterfalls
AEdnafossen (Ædnafossen [maybe pronounced “AD-nuh-foss-un” and alternatively spelled Ednafossen]) was probably the most scenic of the many waterfalls we noticed while driving alongside Sørfjorden (one of the arms of Hardangerfjorden).
What made this waterfall so memorable to Julie and I was its unusual shape and giant size.
The falls fanned out then converged again as it reaggregated its watercourse at its lower tiers before emptying into the fjord.
The end result of this fanning out and reconvergence action was an impressively giant bulbous waterfall on the western wall of Sørfjorden, which we enjoyed seeing from the eastern side of the fjord along the Rv13.
The falls was said to have a cumulative vertical height of 175m to 200m.
Experiencing Ædnafossen
For all intents and purposes, we treated this waterfall as if it was a roadside waterfall even though we looked across the fjord to see it.
The tricky part was trying to find a suitable place to pull over for a good look at it without putting yourself at risk of getting in a car accident.
I’m sure it could have also been experienced up close from the western side of the fjord at the hamlet of Ædna though I’d imagine getting such a nice contextual view (which we were able to get from the opposite side of the fjord) would be harder to come by.
On our first visit to this waterfall back in June 2005, we managed to find such a pullout somewhere between a pair of tunnels that afforded us a direct view right across the fjord to the falls.
That’s the picture you see at the top of this page.
However, on a subsequent visit in June 2019, I had trouble finding the same pullout.
Instead, I found alternate pullouts that yielded more angled views of the falls.
Given the high speed of traffic (and stressful driving) on the Rv13 as well as the changeability of where the pullouts end up being, it’s tricky to advise on a best place to stop for this falls.
That said, my preferred stopping place would be at a clearing or resting area on the north entrance of the Rv13 tunnel immediately north of the town of Tyssedal (see directions below).
There was a place to comfortably get out of the traffic, stop the car, then walk on an old paved road that now served as a pedestrian and bike path along the fjord.
It was along the stretch that I was able to better enjoy AEdnafossen on my more recent visit.
I could have kept walking back towards the town of Tyssedal in order to recover that more direct view we managed to get on our first visit, but due to time constraints on my visit, I didn’t get to do that again.
It was also possible to do the same walk in the opposite direction if you can manage to score a parking spot in the town of Tyssedal somewhere near the hydro museum.
Ædnafossen Semantics
Regarding some semantics, I’m not even sure if Ædnafossen was the official name of this waterfall or not.
However, from looking at Norgeskart (formerly Norgesglasset), it tumbled on a watercourse that went right through the hamlet of Ædna.
Yet given its rather obscure and unofficially recognized nature, we can’t figure out why it didn’t get as much recognition as we thought it deserved.
Besides, it drained the Folgefonna Glacier so it had staying power.
And each time we’ve seen this waterfall – in late June 2005, late June 2019, and late July 2019 – it still had pretty significant flow!
Anyhow, we’re rolling with this nomenclature on this page.
More Than Just Ædnafossen
It turned out that Ædnafossen was merely just one of the conspicuous waterfalls that we spotted while driving this stretch of the Rv13 along the eastern shores of Sørfjorden.
Indeed, we had to have spotted countless other thin and not-so-thin waterfalls spilling into the fjord from impressive heights.
Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising because the somewhat visible ice field topping the mountains on the west side of the fjord happened to be the impressively-sized Folgefonn Glacier.
Thus, I collectively dubbed all of these waterfalls the “Folgefonna Waterfalls”.
While it’s hard to stop for every single one of them (given the relative lack of obvious pullouts or sanctioned vistas on the Rv13), you definitely stand a good chance of seeing them when doing this drive in decent weather.
So I’ll just showcase them in the photos below instead of talking more about them.
Authorities
AEdnafossen resides in the Odda Municipality. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.
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