About Vedalsfossen and the Hjolmodalen Waterfalls
Vedalsfossen was actually one of many roadside waterfalls that we encountered while driving on the narrow and steep mountain road through the Hjølmo Valley (Hjølmodalen; [pronounced “YEUWHL-moo-dal-un”]).
Although we entered the valley in anticipation of seeing this waterfall as it had a lot of fanfare prior to our visit in June 2005, it turned out that it didn’t quite live up to the hype.
As you can see in the photo immediately above and below, I had to exercise the camera’s zoom in order to bring it closer thanks to its distant position from our vantage point.
Part of the notoriety was due in part because the falls was said to be was one of the taller waterfalls in Norway.
However, the truth was that only its uppermost visible drop was probably the only real legitimate part of the falls.
The remainder of the Vedalselva River (also labeled Vedøla on the maps) cascaded and twisted until it joined the Veig River, which was the river that ran through the base of Hjølmodalen.
In fact, there were so many other roadside waterfalls that we encountered in the valley that were every bit as legitimate and as scenic as Vedalsfossen that we decided to include them on this page.
Our tour of Hjølmodalen
Speaking of the other waterfalls, our tour through Hjølmodalen began from a country road that went south from the town of Øvre Eidfjord (Upper Eidfjord).
Right away, we could see there were some tall and thin waterfalls already within sight of the town.
It was hard for us to tell which waterfall was which at the time, but according to Norgeskart, it seemed like the streams responsible for these waterfalls came from the streams Staupo, Svello, and Reipo, respectively.
As we proceeded further into the Hjølmo Valley, the road narrowed to the point that it was practically a single-lane unpaved road.
We were sharing this road with sheep, and we often wondered whether this was supposed to be a drivable road or not given how steep and narrow it was.
In any case, after about 4.5km south from Øvre Eidfjord, we then started to see Vedalsfossen come into view to our right.
Viewing this waterfall was pretty much an exercise in finding a small informal pullout then taking photos before going back in the car.
The sheep that were around us seemed to pay no mind to us once they realized that we weren’t herding them.
After having our fill of Vedalsfossen, barely 600m or so further south in the valley, we then started to see a very tall cascade conspicuously tumbling down the mountainside before us.
Although the falls looked very impressive from a distance, we were never really able to get a clean satisfying look of its total drop from any one spot.
We wouldn’t be able to see the hidden lower tiers of the cascade until the narrow road started to switchback up the mountain alongside the falls.
According to Norgeskart, this cascade was on the Berdølo stream so it could be called Berdølofossen.
We had previously thought it was called Berastøldafossen.
It turned out that this was the last of the main roadside waterfalls we saw in Hjølmodalen.
Further progress along the narrow road yielded only partial views of the cascade which then appeared more like steep rapids seen in sections.
The road would ultimately lead to several car parks, including a couple that were trailheads for Valursfossen as well as other backcountry trails on the Hardanger Plateau (Hardangervidda).
We have a separate writeup for Valursfossen so we won’t say more on this page.
Authorities
Vedalsfossen resides in the Eidfjord Municipality. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.
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