Skjervsfossen

The Skjervet and its falls can be found adjacent to Highway 13 10km north of the junction of Highways 13 and 7 in Grandvin, or about 15.5km south of the junction of Highway 13 and the E16 in Voss. There is room for 2-3 small cars to park alongside the road at the bridge between the falls. Better options for parking can be had at a rest area at the top of the falls, from which visitors would have to walk downhill along the road to view the falls (note that Highway 13 is heavily traveled with commercial traffic and this is not advised).Skjervsfossen is a well known waterfall found straddling the narrow, twisting highway between Grandvin and Voss. The falls plunge in two steps along the Storelvi, a multi-segmented plunge of 72 meters (238 feet), followed by a sliding horsetail of 46 meters (151 feet), with a narrow bridge spanning the stream between the two tiers. The upper tier of the falls provides an excellent spectacle for travelers, soaking passing cars with spray (potentially very heavy spray at that), but the narrow winding road ensures travel will be slow. A tunnel bypassing the Skjervet gorge was under construction when we surveyed the falls in June 2011 which will, upon completion, direct the majority of through traffic away from the narrow road so that visitors will be able to view the falls with greater ease and less traffic to be mindful of. In conjunction with the tunnel, a new trail has been constructed from a larger carpark located near the top of the falls, which allows for more easy visitation to the falls (though requiring a longer and more strenuous hike than previously). While the upper tier of the falls can be easily admired from the road, the lower tier – situated immediately below the bridge – is difficult to see, let alone photograph. Views of the entire falls can be had from a switchback high up the side of the gorge as the road climbs above the falls, but there is again very limited room to safely park to take pictures. Access to the base of the falls should be quite easy from downstream, but again there is nowhere to park in order to do so and one would have to walk a longer distance to achieve such a view.Skjervsfossen is the most commonly used name for this waterfall, but Skjervefossen is also apparently an acceptable title.