Vidfoss
(Hildalsfossen, Vefoss, Schrägfoss)
The Vidfoss (also called Hildalsfossen, Vefoss or Schrägfoss) is one of the many waterfalls near Odda. After Latefossen, the Vidfoss is my number two. I don’t know exactly why but the shape, the volume, the green grass in front and the height makes this is a very photogenic waterfall.
From Odda it is a 10 km drive to the south over road 13. You can’t miss the Vidfoss, from road 13 the waterfall is clearly visible. Over a wide of 300 meters the water of an unnamed river thunders down over 325 meters and is being fed by a serie of lakes (Smyttetjorn, Midtsolsvatnet and some small lakes). The lakes, on an altitude of 400-800 meters, are fed with melted snow from the Folgefonna glacier, the second largest glacier in Norway.
Because it isn’t a real tourist attraction, there is no official parking but there are some spots where you can stop the car. It is not allowed to cross the meadow.
There are two good viewpoint: from the house in front of the Vidfoss photographing towards the west-southwest or a few hundred meters further towards Odda where you can photograph the Vidfoss a little bit from aside. The last three pictures were taken May 3th 2015. Although it was actually to early in the season to see Norwegian waterfalls with a maximum flow, the volume of the Vidfoss was still quite significant. Best time to visit the Vidfoss is early in the morning when the sun just rises over the mountain and the color of the light is tremendous.
The Odda region is one of the best places for spotting the highest, the most beautiful and the largest number of waterfalls in a relative small area. These are the best ones: Låtefossen, Espelandsfossen, Langfoss, Strandfoss, Aednafossen, Strondsfossen, Tjørnadalsfossen, Skrikjofossen, Nyastølfossen, Nykkjesøyfossen, Tveitafossen, Søtefossen and Vøringsfossen.