Manafossen

Getting to Manafossen from the car park required a bit of an uphill hike before we got butterflies-in-the-stomach, very precarious views (like from the photo above) right at the edge of a vertical precipice. That trail was a bit slippery when we did it back in June 2005 because it seemed like they were in the middle of doing some trail construction.

Once at the top of the climb, Manafossen could be heard but wasn't visible until we went right too the edge (no railings) overlooks. We definitely had to be very careful not to get too close to the edge. I believe we saw the trail continue further upstream, but this was as far as we went before heading back down.

All told, we spent just under an hour to do the whole hike plus take a bunch of photos.

Directions: It's about 60-90 minutes drive away (about 60km; time depends on how comfortable you are with Norway's mountain roads) from Stavanger and you'll need a rental car to see it as I don't think public transport is viable.

From Stavanger, head south on E39 for 26km until you reach its junction with Rv45. Turn left on to Rv45 and follow it east for about 27km to a signed turnoff at the small town of Gilja. Turn left onto this county road and follow it through a 4km tunnel as well as alongside the scenic headwaters of Frafjorden before entering a valley beyond the fjord itself. Eventually the road comes upon an intersection (3-way I believe) where we went left and headed up a hill. Near the top of the climbing road, look for the Eigeskogsfossen (about 1.3km from the intersection). In another 1km beyond that waterfall, the road ends at the car park for Manafossen. I recalled there is a toll for parking at the trailhead.

We came from the south (heading north) on the E39, where we then headed east on Rv503 for 25km until it junctioned with Road 45, where we turned left. After a few minutes on Rv45, we saw a signed turnoff at Gilja, which we followed the country road to its end as described above.

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Narrower roads than what we were used to back at home

We saw this thin waterfall when we left Frafjorden and entered the valley

The car park and trailhead with the trail climbing steeply immediately

Trail degenerated into a friction pitch with some chains to hold onto

One way to get close to the edge without fear of falling over is to do what Julie was doing and have a seat

We were joined by another Norwegian couple at this other overlook

View of Manafossen before getting to the edge

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TRIP REPORTS

• June 23, 2005

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NEARBY WATERFALLS

• Eikeskogsfossen

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