The Lyngen Alps Waterfalls and the Kafjord Waterfalls

Kafjorden / Lyngen Alps, Troms County, Norway

About The Lyngen Alps Waterfalls and the Kafjord Waterfalls


Hiking Distance: roadside
Suggested Time:

Date first visited: 2005-07-07
Date last visited: 2019-07-07

Waterfall Latitude: 69.4951
Waterfall Longitude: 20.7851

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Kafjorden Waterfalls page (more accurately spelled Kåfjorden in Norwegian or Gáivuotna in Sami) was a page where I’m attributing the waterfalls we’ve seen as we were driving the E6 highway as well as the ferry ride hooking up the Lyngseidet and Olderdalen.

Although the real-estate we’re covering on this page spans a fairly expansive area, we’re primarily focusing on three main parts…

  1. Waterfalls seen on the Lyngseidet to Olderdalen Ferry
  2. The Lyngen Alps Waterfalls
  3. The Kåfjorden Waterfalls
Lyngen_Alps_257_07072019 - Context of the Lyngen Alps seen across the Lyngen Channel at Djupvik. Notice the tall waterfall at the right side of this photo
Context of the Lyngen Alps seen across the Lyngen Channel at Djupvik. Notice the tall waterfall at the right side of this photo

I felt the need to do this because we saw so many waterfalls that were apparently unnamed.

Perhaps this was a very telling aspect about Norwegian Waterfalls – there are so many of them in the country and in small stretches like this, that they tend to be taken for granted!

Nevertheless, we’re doing the waterfall descriptions in this order because we actually did all three sections on our return trip to Norway in 2019.

On that trip, we first went across the Lyngen Channel via ferry, then we drove north on the E6 eventually up to Alta before turning back and driving all the way back south through the Kåfjorden along the way (as well as another go at the Lyngen Alps before that).

Waterfalls seen on the Lyngseidet to Olderdalen Ferry

First and foremost, we had to do this ferry as a direct way of leaving Tromsø to return to the E6 across the Lyngen Channel.

Lyngen_Alps_035_07042019 - The scenic drive between Svensby and Lyngseidet along the Fv91
The scenic drive between Svensby and Lyngseidet along the Fv91

The drive along between the first ferry (at Breivikeidet and Svensby) and the second ferry (at Lyngseidet and Olderdalen) was enough to make us want to pause as long as we could without missing out on the nearest scheduled ferry departure.

While we easily could have lingered on the western side of the Lyngen Alps for longer (where undoubtedly we would have experienced more waterfalls), we can only describe the waterfalls we did observe on the ferry itself across the Lyngen Channel.

During the ferry ride between Lyngseidet and Olderdalen, we spotted a handful of waterfalls towards the south on the east-facing wall of the Sørfjorden.

I didn’t know their names though so that kind of makes it harder to discuss other than to show pictures.

Lyngen_Alps_118_07042019 - Looking towards a pair of waterfalls to the south of the ferry boat (I think the left one could be Dalfossen)
Looking towards a pair of waterfalls to the south of the ferry boat (I think the left one could be Dalfossen)

Looking in the other direction, I spotted very thin waterfalls near the mouth of Kåfjorden as well as behind the town of Olderdalen.

The Lyngen Alps Waterfalls

With respect to the Lyngen Alps, I’ve had co-workers see my desktop photo of Julie, Tahia, and I smiling before mountains that rise up sharply out of the water behind us. And their initial guess at the photo location was that we were at the Grand Tetons.

It turned out that this scenery came from Northern Norway (specifically the Lyngen Alps), where the mountains rose up sharply out of the saltwater Lyngen Channel (as opposed to the Tetons rising up out of the man-made freshwater reservoir of Jackson Lake).

With such steep terrain topped by snow and glaciers, there had to be many waterfalls tumbling down to sea level, and that’s exactly what we witnessed.

Lyngen_Alps_194_07042019 - Looking across the Lyngen Channel across the E6 towards what appeared to be cascades coming down from hidden glacier arms
Looking across the Lyngen Channel across the E6 towards what appeared to be cascades coming down from hidden glacier arms

There are simply too many waterfalls to single out (where sometimes it’s hard to tell snow gullies versus waterfalls apart).

However, one waterfall in particular that I felt the need to single out was a particularly giant one that I believe flowed on one of the streams either as far north as Vakkasjohka or the Store Rensa or as far south as a stream tumbling into Landvindshamna.

If I interpret the topographic maps correctly, this waterfall could be as tall as 450m!

It was hard to tell from just eyeballing the waterfall from across the Lyngen Channel.

Lyngen_Alps_271_07072019 - Looking across the Lyngen Channel towards the mammoth waterfall that was right across from Djupvik as seen from a pullout along the E6
Looking across the Lyngen Channel towards the mammoth waterfall that was right across from Djupvik as seen from a pullout along the E6

But one thing I do know for sure was that it was right across the channel from Djupvik (“deep bay”) where the E6 started to curve more inland to the northeast as we were going north.

There were a few unsigned pullouts that we took advantage of to get a view of this waterfall.

And it was from one of these pullouts that we also just took our Lyngen Alps shot (the very one I put on my desktop wallpaper at work right after our 2019 Scandinavia Trip).

The rest of the waterfalls were primarily south of the big waterfall we’re singling out here, and they seemed typical of the kind of waterfalls you’d typically encounter when glaciers melt.

E6_088_jx_07082005 - This was what the Lyngen Alps looked like from the E6 when we first drove by here in early July 2005
This was what the Lyngen Alps looked like from the E6 when we first drove by here in early July 2005

Especially in a Global Warming world where such waterfalls become more plentiful and the flow starts to diminish as the ice pack also diminishes, who knows what other new waterfalls pop up and which existing ones start to disappear?

The Kåfjorden Waterfalls

This page originally started off as just a dedication of the waterfalls found in Kåfjorden, because Julie and I first drove through here twice back in July 2005 towards the end of that first visit to Norway.

We didn’t expect to have to make a page out of it, but we happened to spot so many of them, that we couldn’t ignore them any longer.

Assuming that we were driving along the northern side of the fjord (say from Olderdalen) and heading south, the first waterfalls we would have noticed were a pair of thinner waterfalls tumbling side by side somewhere near the mouth of a side valley called Manndalen.

E6_107_jx_07082005 - Looking across Kåfjorden towards what I believe are the Ytre Iselva and the Indre Iselva back when the weather was very nice on our first visit in early July 2005
Looking across Kåfjorden towards what I believe are the Ytre Iselva and the Indre Iselva back when the weather was very nice on our first visit in early July 2005

Continuing further south along the E6, we then encountered the next side-by-side pairing of waterfalls, which I’d imagine were probably the most spicuous of the bunch of waterfalls tumbling into Kåfjorden.

I believe these waterfalls fell on the Ytre Iselva and the Indre Iselva.

We certainly noticed these waterfalls on both of our trips (in 2005 and 2019), and I recalled there were enough unsigned pullouts to take pictures of them safely.

Kafjorden_052_07072019 - Looking towards the waterfall I believe was on the Okseelva or Vuoksajohka at the head of Kåfjorden or the foot of Kåfjorddalen as we were driving past in early July 2019
Looking towards the waterfall I believe was on the Okseelva or Vuoksajohka at the head of Kåfjorden or the foot of Kåfjorddalen as we were driving past in early July 2019

As we moved to the head of Kåfjorden we noticed another waterfall further inland within the Kåfjorddalen.

I believe this waterfall tumbled on the Okseelva, and we managed to take either distant photos from the E6 or slightly more inland in the valley itself.

However, we didn’t explore any further to see if there were more ways to experience it.

As the road swung around to the south side of the fjord, the E6 pretty much went through a couple of long tunnels. I didn’t recall those tunnels being there before in 2005, but I also didn’t recall the scenery being that compelling anyways on this side.

Authorities

The waterfalls on this page reside in the Kåfjord Municipality near Olderdalen in Troms County, Norway. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Lyngen_Alps_004_07042019 - Waiting for the ferry at Breivikeidet to go to Svensby and ultimately to Lyngseidet and Olderdalen as we would pass right through the heart of the Lyngen Alps. This photo and the next several photos came from this visit in July 2019
Lyngen_Alps_040_07042019 - Looking across the Kjosen as we were driving towards Lyngseidet from Svensby
Lyngen_Alps_042_07042019 - Driving the Fv91 into the heart of the Lyngen Alps
Lyngen_Alps_060_07042019 - Looking back towards Lyngseidet as we were being ferried across to Olderdalen
Lyngen_Alps_070_07042019 - Context of some of the waterfalls seen as we looked south from the ferry across the Lyngen Channel
Lyngen_Alps_079_07042019 - The ferry going across the Lyngen Channel towards Olderdalen
Lyngen_Alps_141_07042019 - Looking northwards from the ferry boat to Olderdalen as we noticed glaciers crowning the Lyngen Alps
Lyngen_Alps_172_07042019 - Looking into the mouth of Kåfjorden on the ferry ride to Olderdalen
Lyngen_Alps_175_07042019 - Checking out a thin waterfall tumbling behind the small town of Olderdalen
Lyngen_Alps_181_07042019 - Looking towards more glaciers hiding within the Lyngen Alps as seen from near Olderdalen
Lyngen_Alps_187_07042019 - Looking southwards towards some sloping cascade shortly before we were about to land at Olderdalen
Lyngen_Alps_202_07042019 - Centered look right across the Lyngen Channel towards the waterfall that I'm going to call Vakkasjokfossen since I can't seem to identify its true stream
Lyngen_Alps_205_07042019 - The E6 following the contours of the Lyngen Channel as we were heading north
Lyngen_Alps_220_07042019 - Contextual view over Djupvik towards the Lyngen Alps and the Vakkasjokfossen
Lyngen_Alps_226_07042019 - Another contextual look of the Lyngen Alps with the Vakkasjokfossen off to the left side
Lyngen_Alps_235_07072019 - Returning to the Lyngen Alps after spending a few days in Alta
Lyngen_Alps_249_07072019 - Another look across Rotsundet before the E6 road started to hug the Lyngen Channel
Lyngen_Alps_259_07072019 - Looking over Djupvik towards the Lyngen Alps. Notice the big waterfall in the center left of this photo
Lyngen_Alps_295_07072019 - An individual boat in the Lyngen Channel backed by the big 'Vakkasjokfossen'
Kafjorden_002_07072019 - Looking towards one of the many waterfalls seen from the north side of Kåfjorden
Kafjorden_004_07072019 - Looking in the distance towards a pair of waterfalls near the mouth of Kåfjorden
Kafjorden_011_07072019 - Going south on the E6 into Kåfjorden, where more surprise waterfalls were showing up on the surrounding mountains
Kafjorden_020_07072019 - Another look at the first pair of waterfalls side-by-side that we noticed in Kåfjorden
Kafjorden_031_07072019 - Another look at the pair of waterfalls that I don't think were part of the Iselva that we'd see later on in Kåfjorden
Kafjorden_043_07072019 - Looking ahead towards another waterfall tumbling towards Kåfjorden up ahead
Kafjorden_047_07072019 - Looking towards the Ytre Iselva (Outer Ice River?) and Indre Iselva (Inner Ice River?) waterfalls at Kåfjorden
Kafjorden_049_07072019 - Looking directly across the Kåfjorden towards Ytre and Indre Iselva waterfalls
Kafjorden_053_07072019 - Looking towards the waterfall that I believe is on Okseelva as we curled around the head of Kåfjorden along the E6
E6_069_jx_07082005 - As we headed south from Storslett along the E6, we noticed this roadside waterfall back in July 2005. The rest of the photos in this gallery were from that trip
E6_074_jx_07082005 - While driving south along the E6 from Storslett towards Kåfjorden, we started to see the Lyngen Alps behind this farm or fishery back in early July 2005
E6_092_jx_07082005 - This blurry photo of the first waterfall we noticed across Kåfjorden might be on Bjørkelva (Bjørkelvfossen?) as seen back in 2005
E6_094_jx_07082005 - Looking across Kåfjorden towards the hamlet and valley of Skarvdalen as seen back in 2005
E6_095_jx_07082005 - Looking over this tin-roofed house along Kåfjorden towards this waterfall I believe is on the Båelva (Båfossen?) from back in 2005
E6_096_jx_07082005 - More direct look at what I'm calling Båfossen
E6_098_jx_07082005 - Looking back at a waterfall I'm calling Båfossen as we headed further east to the head of Kåfjorden
E6_102_jx_07082005 - Looking across Kåfjorden towards this thin waterfall that I think is on Melkelva ('Melkfossen'?) back in 2005
E6_110_jx_07082005 - This impressive waterfall I believe is on the Okseelva is what I'm calling 'Oksefossen'.  This wasn't on the fjord Kåfjorden per se as we had to go a little further into Kåfjorddalen to see it back in 2005
E6_113_jx_07082005 - More direct look at what I'm calling 'Oksefossen' from back in 2005 when we actually took the time to try to see it better
E6_115_jx_07082005 - Now we were on the south side of Kåfjorden along the E6 and we got a closeup look at this waterfall though I'm not sure which stream it belonged to. These days with the tunnels, you don't get this kind of view anymore from the roadside
E6_118_jx_07082005 - Around the time we were either leaving or had already left Kåfjorden, Julie got this partial view of some other waterfall whose stream we can't pinpoint. I don't think you can get this view anymore either given the E6 tunnels bypassing a lot of the southern side of the fjord
E6_061_jx_07072005 - On the day before in early July 2005, we were driving north towards Kåfjorden and we caught a glimpse of this fairly sizable waterfall but we didn't know which stream it belonged to
E6_063_jx_07072005 - On the day before in early July 2005, we were driving north towards Kåfjorden so this was one of our first photos of the waterfall pair 'Ytre og Indre Isfossen'


The stretches of waterfalls were segregated into three main sections on this page.

Lyngen_Alps_129_07042019 - The ferry ride across the Lyngen Channel between Lyngseidet and Olderdalen
The ferry ride across the Lyngen Channel between Lyngseidet and Olderdalen

The first stretch was pretty much the Fv91 between Svensby and Olderdalen via Lyngseidet. You can easily route to either side of this stretch as they both involve ferries.

We did the drive coming from Tromsø before rejoining the E6 at Olderdalen.

The second stretch went north of Olderdalen along the E6 towards Djupvik and beyond.

While almost the entire way we could peer across the Lyngen Channel to see the Lyngen Alps, the main waterfall in this stretch could be seen closer to Djupvik.

E6_080_jx_07082005 - Driving south along the E6 where the Lyngen Alps can be seen across the Lyngen Channel
Driving south along the E6 where the Lyngen Alps can be seen across the Lyngen Channel

According to my GPS logs, the pullouts where we stopped the car to see the big waterfall were at about 12km north from Olderdalen to the first pullout on the left side of the road.

Another pullout we stopped at, which was closer to Djupvik, was at about 5km further to the north along the E6.

Again, the pullout was on the left side of the road.

Finally, the last stretch went south of Olderdalen along the E6 towards the head of Kåfjorden or the mouth of Kåfjorddalen.

Kafjorden_016_07072019 - Driving south along the E6 into the Kåfjorden
Driving south along the E6 into the Kåfjorden

Most of the waterfalls we’ve cited here were mostly visible from the road though you have to be opportunistic about pulling the car over because pullouts were both easy to miss and quite infrequent.

For geographical context, Olderdalen was about 14km (under an hour ferry ride) east of Lyngseidet, 46km (about 45 minutes drive) south of Storslett, 210km (about 3 hours drive) west of Alta, 89km (about 2.5 hours drive with a ferry) or 183km (about 2.5 hours drive without a ferry) east of Tromsø, and 273km (under 4 hours drive) northeast of Narvik.

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Different panorama from further north along the E6 revealing the same mountains but just the giant waterfall


Lyngen Alps panorama from an unsigned pullout along the E6 revealing three waterfalls including a giant one


Sweep of the Lyngen Alps with a big waterfall that I believe is called Vakkasjohka

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Tagged with: gaivuotna, kafjord, troms, tromso, skibotn, lyngen alps, e6, storslett, sorkjosen, northern norway, norway, waterfall, birtavarre, olderdalen, nordkjosbotn, isfossen, bafossen, oksefossen, vakkasjohka, vaggaselva, laddoelva, laddofossen, landvindshamna, lyngen



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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