Vinnufossen and the Sunndal Waterfalls

Sunndalsora / Oppland, More og Romsdal County / Oppland County, Norway

About Vinnufossen and the Sunndal Waterfalls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Vinnufossen was a waterfall that we had never identified even though we had seen and photographed it as part of our late evening drive through the Sunndal Valley on our first trip to Norway in early July 2005.

On that drive, we saw a large concentration of waterfalls as we went east from Sunndalsøra to Åmotan (via Gjøra) and eventually to Oppdal.

Sunndalen_002_jx_07032005 - Vinnufossen as seen on our first visit back in early 2005, which preceded all the tourism infrastructure that has since followed over the years
Vinnufossen as seen on our first visit back in early 2005, which preceded all the tourism infrastructure that has since followed over the years

Our dismissal of this waterfall as one of the dime-a-dozen waterfalls draping Sunndalen changed when all of the sudden we started seeing internet literature claiming that this waterfall was the sixth tallest waterfall in the world at 865m in total height.

Along with that notoriety came a bunch of photos from other people. And so that compelled me to compose this page to show how we’ve experienced the falls.

We won’t get into trivial things about what’s taller than what and whether this waterfall truly should be considered as one of the highest in the world (especially if most of such lists are likely to be bogus in the first place).

However, it wasn’t until recently when I was cleaning up our website writeups of the waterfalls in Norway and revisiting our photos did I realize that this was the waterfall these folks were talking about all along!

Sunndalen_058_07162019 - Contextual look at Vinnufossen from the pedestrian and bike road between the rasteplass and the Vinnu airport turnoff as seen in 2019
Contextual look at Vinnufossen from the pedestrian and bike road between the rasteplass and the Vinnu airport turnoff as seen in 2019

Talk about serendipity!

When I returned to the Sunndal Valley 14 years later, I noticed better tourism infrastructure (including a Vinnufossen Rasteplass) that definitely wasn’t there when Julie and I were here in 2005.

With all the added infrastructure and pedestrian or bike paths paralleling the Rv70, there seemed to be enough official support to bring this waterfall out of obscurity and into the internet spotlight.

About Vinnufossen

In any case, this particular waterfall (or should we say waterfalls) stood out to Julie and I because it tumbled down the mountain Vinnufjellet like veins.

Sunndalen_023_07162019 - Looking up at Vinnufossen after scrambling around the picnic area near Holskeidet in July 2019
Looking up at Vinnufossen after scrambling around the picnic area near Holskeidet in July 2019

It was almost as if we had a flashback of how waterfalls fell like veins in many of the mountains of rain-soaked Fiordland in the South Island of New Zealand.

Except in this case, we were dealing with fine weather (though on my return visit, I had to wait out a rain storm before the fine weather came).

The series of thin waterfalls (many of which I’d imagine might be more on the temporary or ephemeral side) were said to be fed by the Vinnufonna Glacier.

So it could be argued that the falls should be considered permanent given its glacial source (albeit in danger of disappearing in the near future due to Global Warming).

Sunndalen_101_07162019 - Looking towards Vinnufossen with the sun setting behind the massif supporting both the falls and the Vinnubreen Glacier
Looking towards Vinnufossen with the sun setting behind the massif supporting both the falls and the Vinnubreen Glacier

Anyhow, Vinnufossen was one of the first waterfalls we encountered as we drove east of Sunndalsøra into the valley Sunndalen.

It was probably a good thing we saw this waterfall earlier rather than later when we started to get waterfall-fatigued from the sheer quantity of waterfalls we encountered as we drove through this scenic valley.

This waterfall was roadside and quite easy to spot, but given the fairly high rate of speed on the Riksveien 70 through Sunndalen, we could have easily passed by and missed it if we weren’t still on the lookout for waterfalls during the drive.

With the added infrastructure, we could walk about 1km east of the rest stop along the pedestrian road paralleling the Rv70. Then, there was a narrower path that veered inland from there for a more bottoms up look at Vinnufossen.

Since we were pretty content with our views without needing to do this walk, we didn’t do it so we can’t say more about it.

The Other Sunndalen Waterfalls

Sunndalen_048_07162019 - Waterfalls coming down like veins as seen when I turned around from the foot of Vinnufossen and looked at the other wall of Sunndalen in 2019
Waterfalls coming down like veins as seen when I turned around from the foot of Vinnufossen and looked at the other wall of Sunndalen in 2019

Speaking of waterfall fatigue, indeed Julie and I saw many more waterfalls along Sunndalen, but we really had no way of properly associating the waterfalls we photographed with their proper watercourses on maps (at least not as of our first visit in 2005).

In a way, it was reminiscent of our drive through Romsdalen where there were simply way too many waterfalls to track.

When I came back in decent weather 14 years later, I made it a point to try to document and identify the key waterfalls neighboring Vinnufossen since most of the notable waterfalls were concentrated on the western side of the Sunndal Valley.

A couple of the notable waterfalls that I’ve managed to notice and document were the Skorgafossen (because it was on the Skorga) and the Fossafossen (because it was on the Fossa).

Sunndalen_089_07162019 - It's hard to tell one waterfall apart from another, but on my 2019 re-visit to Sunndalen, I believe these waterfalls were on the adjacent drainages just east of Vinnu.  Whether the stream on the left is Skorga or the pair on the right is Skorga, I'm not sure
It’s hard to tell one waterfall apart from another, but on my 2019 re-visit to Sunndalen, I believe these waterfalls were on the adjacent drainages just east of Vinnu. Whether the stream on the left is Skorga or the pair on the right is Skorga, I’m not sure

The Skorga Waterfall was said to have an 860m cumulative drop with a similar volume to Vinnufossen and thus could be claimed as also one of Norway’s tallest (or in the world for that matter).

Of course, there were also several others tumbling side-by-side on the opposite north-facing wall of Sunndalen.

And while those minor waterfalls were harder to single out by name, there was one more named waterfall further to the east called Storefallet that was near the town of Lønset.

It was said to require a mere 800m from the Rv70 to get a good look at it, but in both of our visits in 2005 and 2019, we missed on it so we can’t say more other than it’s there.

Sunndalen_015_jx_07032005 - One of the other waterfalls tumbling down Sunndalen Valley though I suspect this one was on the north-facing cliffs
One of the other waterfalls tumbling down Sunndalen Valley though I suspect this one was on the north-facing cliffs

And yet there were still more waterfalls that we didn’t bother to identify as there were too many to stop for let alone take pictures of.

So keep in mind that what we’ve shown on this page is nothing but a fraction of all the waterfalls that could be seen in this remarkable stretch of road!

Authorities

The waterfalls on this page reside in the Sunndal Municipality near Sunndalsøra in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: surnadal, sunndal, sunndalen, sunndalsora, oppland, more og romsdal, norway, waterfall, trondheim



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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.