Pikefossen

Finnmarksvidda, Finnmark County, Norway

About Pikefossen

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Pikefossen was one of the few easily-accessible named waterfalls that we’ve encountered in Finnmark County (it might be the only one!).

Unlike most of the waterfalls we’ve seen throughout Norway, this one was more of the wide river variety, where it was much wider than it was tall.

Pikefossen_020_07052019 - Pikefossen
Pikefossen

The waterfall was said to be 8m tall, but its width across both its segments could be around 75-100m in total.

About Pikefossen

The word “pike” means girl in Norwegian, and supposedly it got this name after a girl servant was thrown into the waterfall by her angry master.

Allegedly, he did this because the girl managed to allow a herd of his reindeer to drown during the course of her herding duties while her master was on travel.

Speaking of the river, Pikefossen flowed on the Kautokeino-Alta River, which was said to have played an important role in shaping human habitation in Finnmarksvidda (the Finnmark Plateau) for thousands of years.

Pikefossen_037_07052019 - Pikefossen as seen from a different angle on the rim of the gorge on its opposite end
Pikefossen as seen from a different angle on the rim of the gorge on its opposite end

Except for the lower third closer to Alta, the river remains largely undeveloped so it provides good salmon fishing as well as a good source of hydration for reindeer herding (both of which are important to the Sami way of life).

By the way, the Sami name for this waterfall was Nieidagorzi.

Experiencing Pikefossen

From the parking and picnic area, I really didn’t have to do much other than to walk a few paces to the overlooks.

At these overlooks, I could peer across the Kautokeino-Alta River right at the wide waterfall.

Pikefossen_074_07052019 - Picnic tables near the overlooks for Pikefossen (though I don't the mosquitos here would allow for a relaxing experience)
Picnic tables near the overlooks for Pikefossen (though I don’t the mosquitos here would allow for a relaxing experience)

While I could just call it a visit being content with these views, I did notice lots of use trails that ultimately sought ways to descend to the level of the river.

The paths closest to the overlooks were very steep, and I’d argue they’re not suitable for descending due to the bad footing and the potential for causing rockfalls.

However, the trails of use continued to follow the rim of the gorge until I spotted a less steep use trail that eventually led down to the level of the river slightly to the south side of Pikefossen.

I didn’t have my GPS with me when I did this scramble so I can’t say for sure what the distances were, but I know I had spent around 35 minutes away from the car.

Pikefossen_032_07052019 - Trails of use branching off from these semi-developed walkways leading to alternate ways to experience Pikefossen
Trails of use branching off from these semi-developed walkways leading to alternate ways to experience Pikefossen

So it couldn’t have been that far.

That said, the mosquitos were also quite bad during my July 2019 visit so perhaps the short amount of time spent here also reflected my need to keep moving!

Finally, I don’t know how sanctioned such scrambling is considering the impact it has on the landscape.

There was certainly no signage advocating the use of the trails-of-use and scrambling paths.

Pikefossen_063_07052019 - Pikefossen as seen from the banks of the Kautokeino-Alta River
Pikefossen as seen from the banks of the Kautokeino-Alta River

However, I can totally imagine that salmon fishers would try to take advantage of these trails to get to the river level and try their luck by the waterfall.

Authorities

Pikefossen resides in the town and municipality of Kautokeino in Finnmark County, Norway. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: finnmarksvidda, finnmark, kautokeino, norway, waterfall, nieidagorzi, kautokeinoelva, alta, karasjok



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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.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.