Krunefossen

Take Route 60 south from Stryn to the small town of Loen and make a left onto Route 723 where signs point to Kjenndalsbreen (the turn adjacent to several prominent hotels). Follow Route 723 contouring along Lovatnet for 13km. At this point the road splits, with the left heading to Bødalen and the right to Kjenndalen - both are self-pay toll roads. Stay to the right (toward Kjenndalen) and follow the road to its end in 7.5km further at the trailhead for Kjenndalsbreen. Krunefossen will be visible on the left side of the valley at this point.Krunefossen is one of the most substantial waterfalls which pour directly off of the Jostedal Icefield, but due to the path the water takes as it tumbles down the side of the valley as well as the proximity to the bottom of the falls from which it is viewed, its true height is difficult to comprehend. The Kruneelva sources in two separate lobes of the Krunebreen which are separated by a small height of land. During our initial survey of the falls in 2011 both lobes of the glacier emptied into the same channel and directed all of the stream's flow over one single set of falls, however some time between 2016 and 2019 the southern lobe of the glacier shifted and redirected its melt stream away from the merged channel, and as a result the falls now flow as two parallel streams all the way to the bottom of the valley - its possible that it may change back in the future depending on how the retreating glacier behaves and blocks its outflow channel. Currently the left (northern) segment of the falls drops a total of approximately 485 meters over a run of 650 meters of linear stream. The most prominent part of this drop is a sheer plunging fall of 100-120 meters in height which can be easily seen from the end of the road. The other sections of the lefthand stream are either hidden from view by perspective or by the shape of the canyon it descends. The righthand segment of the falls veils down an angled section of the cliff, tumbling in a nearly continuous series of cascades from the glacier down to the valley floor. Only about 275-300 meters of the final part of this fall can be seen from the road below, but the total drop of the cascades may be over 800 meters, which would make Krunefossen as it is currently configured among the tallest waterfalls in the world. Further information is needed to determine the exact height of the righthand segment of the falls, or how permanent it may be going forward.