Hardanger and Voringsfossen Falls

From Voss we headed South East on R13 crossed the Eidfjord from Bruravik to Brimnes by ferry. On the way we saw Norway’s oil and gas money at work with new tunnels and suspension bridges under construction.

We took a side trip on road RV7 to Eidfjord for lunch. Eidford is also a cruise ship port and geared up for tourists. After lunch we continued on the RV7 through tunnels spiraling up through the mountain to Voringsfossen Falls the main reason for our detour.

Voringfossen Falls

Voringfossen Falls are the best known falls in Norway. Vast quantities of water

plung 182metres of which 145 metres is a direct drop from the Hardangervidda plateau into the Mabodalen Valley.
This is a beautiful waterfall, surrounded by sheer cliffs and a rainbow in the mist from waterfall. As the mist rises on the updraft it forms clouds that float away with the breeze.

We walked around the cliff edges to see the different falls and valley views. Even

Trish took a pathe on the very edge of the cliff!!

This huge water fall can also be switched on and off!! During the winter the water is used for power generation in summer it is turned on again for the tourists.

We also explored the area for a while walking the old road down the mountain.

This road was constructed between 1887 and 1924 with its own tunnels 125 hairpin bends and sheer cliff edges. We only went 1 tunnel and a couple of hairpin bends as we had to walk back up!!
Leaving the falls behind we went back down through the spiral tunnels, through Eidfjord and out to the Simadal hydro electric power station, one of the biggest in Europe and built inside a mountain. Unfortunately it was closed Sad smile so back on RV13 and south along the East coast of the Sorfjorden.

This is an area of orchards of Morello cherries and Hardanger apples on steep hillsides between the mountains and the fjord. This has been an orchard area since fruit farming introduced by monks in the 1200s. It is also known for its high quality apple juice and cider which is made from a variety of different apples grown in the area.
The orchards are covered on large plastic sheets, we later learned that this was to prevent the cherries splitting when it rains.
We stopped at a small stall along the road near Lofehus selling cherries and the bottled apple juice and bought some of each Smile

We called into in the old town of Tyssedal. A small town

between tunnels with an industrial warf and an old hydro power station that is now the Norwegian Museum of Hydro power and Industry. We looked around for a while and as there was nowhere suitable to stay and the museum was already closed for the day Sad smile , we headed a few kilometers further on to Odda.