Vermafossen

From the town of Åndalsnes follow the E136 east for about 35.5km to the small town of Verma where the falls will become visible on the opposite side of the valley. There are several large pullouts along the highway which provide decent views of the falls (though in some locations trees in the foreground may obstruct the view a bit).Vermafossen had been a well regarded waterfall in Norway for centuries thanks to its prominence along the Rauma railway line. Climbing from Åndalsnes the railway crosses the long cascading falls about 100 meters above its base, allowing a unique up-close perspective (the railway apparently slows down to allow passengers to view the falls), then makes a broad horseshoe turn to the other side of the valley, crossing the historic Kyllingsbrua viaduct in the process. On the opposite side of the valley the full scale of the falls are revealed cascading for 372 meters (1,220 feet) down the side of the valley in a raucous chain of slides and plunges stretching just over one kilometer in length before splitting into three channels and plunging in triplicate into the Rauma River below. The Verma River has been incorporated into a hydropower system since 1948 and a substantial portion of the river is diverted just upstream of the falls. While upon our visit in June 2011 there appeared to be no visual impact to the flow of the stream due to heavy spring runoff and prolonged rain over the previous week, it is much more likely that the falls could be considerably reduced by the later summer months (the Verma is a fairly large river, so the diversion may not make much of an impact in the first place).