Brekkefossen in May 2015

Norway has many waterfalls, and a great place to start your journey to find waterfalls is Bergen. I flew into Bergen, stayed a few days there, and then started my waterfall hunting. (Well…I had seen some waterfalls on a cruise, but that didn’t require much effort.) I stopped at a few different places, and then set my sights on Flåm, a village found at the end of Aurlandsfjorden. Flåm is the home of the Flåm Railway, which is famous for its 2800′ elevation change over 12.5 miles. There are even a few waterfalls to be viewed along the Railway, such as Kjosfossen and Rjoandefossen.

Those falls can be viewed from the train. Brekkefossen can be viewed partially from spots in Flåm, but to get a more intimate view, you can hike to the Brekkefossen. I don’t think there was parking at the trail head of Brekkefossen, and anyway, it wasn’t a difficult hike to the trail head from Flåm. It’s about a 1 mile hike to the trail head/base of the falls, and it’s mostly on flat ground. It’s the hike up to get closer to the falls that classifies this as probably the most difficult hike I did while in Norway.

At a height of 2050′, Brekkefossen is pretty tall! It’s not a climb to the falls, so it’s not wildly steep, but you have to hike a pretty significant elevation in a pretty short distance. It must have not been the most difficult hike I have ever been on…I think I was prepared for the difficulty level. But, still, it was an adventure indeed. You’re greeted with a portion of a beautiful waterfall (of which most in Norway are)! Now, if you’re not up for the steep hike, you still can get a pretty good view of the falls from afar, so you can still check it off the list if you’re ever in Flåm.

Directions:

1. Head to Flåm, which is along a main road, E16. There are some very long tunnels you have to pass through if you’re headed east into Flåm.
2. I stayed in Flåm at the Fretheim. From there, I hiked back toward the E16.
3. There are a few different ways to get to the road of interest, but you want to end up on the other side of E16 on a road Nedre Brekkevegen, heading essentially south for a few tenths of a mile. You’ll pass some apartments and hostels along the way.
4. You’ll then end up at the trail head for the falls.

Accessibility: 3/10 (moderate/strenuous)
Height: 2050′
Length of Hike: 2 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Brekkefossen?