Kleivafossen

Kleivafossen is one of the most beautifulls waterfall to photograph in Norway. Kleivafossen is located near Briksdal and the Brikdal glacier at the end of the Oldevatnet (Stryn) in the region Sogn og Fjordane.

From Olden you have to drive 22 kilometer into the Oldedalen, passing lake Oldevatnet (with some beautiful views) until you reach the big parking in front of Volefossen near Briksdalbre Fjellstove.

Busloads of people travel every year to the Kleivafossen and Briksdal glacier. A lot of them are tourists from the many cruise ships that moor in Loen. I drove in Loen when there were two cruise ships. There where so many people along the road and I think I have seen 20 busses.

At the beginning of the second part of the Oldevatnet (after the bridge) there is a parking where everybody stops, so it can be busy. here you have a great view on the Briksdal glacier and a good look on Volefossen at the right side of the glacier. Showing this picture at home is a guarantee for all those oh and ah’s.

Driving further along the lake you will have several great views on the glacier and Volefossen. I also stopped at Olden camping Gyrti. Years ago we had a great time at the camping site with one of the most beautiful views of Norway. Drive further on to the parking (fee 50 nok) and you will stand in front of Volefossen. Toilet and restaurant is available at the house at Melkevoll Bretun.

From the parking taking the path up to the tourist shops and information boards. It can be crowded in summertime but it didn’t bother me. In earlier days a tour on a donkey or carriage was possible. Now you can rent a sort of electric golf cart…..terrible to see.

It is a short walk (7-10 minutes) along the river Briksdalselva before you reach Kleivafossen. In the background you can see the beautiful Briksdalbreen. I can spend all day at this waterfall. With a great power the water tries to find its way down over 35 meter.

You can walk further on to base of the glacier Briksdalbreen walking up along Kleivafossen with several man made viewpoints. I prefer to leave nature as it is. In appr 10 minutes you will reach the glacier lake.

It is also possible to hike further to Kattanakken (the cat’s neck), a 3 kilometer hike (from the top of Kleivafossen) to this mountain peak. From the top of Kattanakken you will see Briksdal Glacier in all its glory far down below, surrounded by rugged mountains and cascading waterfalls.

The Briksdalbreen was a long stretched glacier ending at a glacier lake. Since 2000 the glacier retreats rapidly (over 200 meters). Nowadays glacier walkings on the ice is dangerous and not possible anymore. An information sign about Briksdal glacier stand in front of the tourist shops. Briksdalbreen is still responsible for a very nice and astonishing surrounding and even more beautiful (un)named waterfalls.

On the way you will have (again) a great look in Volefossen from top to bottom. Here you can see how big Volefossen actually is. Total height of the waterfall is near 400 meter with a single drop of appr. 275 meter

Kleivafossen is being fed by melted ice from the Brikdalbreen and can be very powerful. Average volume of the river is 3,6m3/sec but increases in summertime to more then 7m3/sec.

Best time to visit waterfalls in the Oldedalen is early summer and summer when the weather is warm and melts down snow and ice from the surrounding glaciers.

I visited the Oldedalen three times, last time July 2017 and every time it still surprises me that there are so many waterfalls in the Oldedalen. A lot of them are seasonal and not named, but there are still many official named waterfalls left. Most beautiful ones are Volefossen and Kleivafossen.