Stigfossen

The Trollstigen is a very prominent landmark in Møre Og Romsdal and is quite easy to find thanks to prominent signing along the major roads in the area. From the E136 in Romsdalen take Highway 63 south for almost 11km to the base of the switchbacks at the foot of the falls (the junction of E136 and 63 is about 4km east of the town of Åndalsnes). Continuing up the road will yield several additional viewpoints.Among Norway’s most famous attractions is the masterfully constructed Trollstigen (Troll’s Ladder), the narrow, precariously twisty road which climbs up and out of Isterdalen. As the road climbs up the valley it becomes quite intimate with Stigfossen and as a result the falls are very well regarded. The stream Istra begins its descent into the valley after flowing through a landscaped garden of sorts actually constructed in the stream just above the falls and footbridges crossing the stream to access viewpoints over the valley. As the falls proper begins, the stream churns and rolls down a slope, increasing in steepness very quickly until it is falling nearly vertically - the uppermost cascades can only be seen from the viewpoint at the top of the falls. A small bench interrupts the first and largest drop of the falls, which falls about 127 meters (415 feet), before the next drop immediately leaps another 80 meters (260 feet) and the stream funnels beneath a graceful stone arch bridge which spans the chasm. After the falls collect from their initial drop, the stream plunges six more times in the narrow gorge below the road, dropping an additional 100 meters, for a total drop of 338 meters (1,110 feet). The Trollstigen itself is the device for viewing the falls, with unique perspectives afforded at nearly every one of the hairpin switchbacks the road makes as it climbs out of the valley. The lower turns allow a view looking up at the entire series of falls from below, while the bridge across the falls’ midsection provides an up-close look at the largest tiers and a different perspective down on the stair-stepping gorge below. The final two turns adjacent to the stream allow one to practically reach out and touch the falling water. The views vary so much that one should expect to stop in half a dozen different places along the road to photograph or view the falls.