Eidfjord is a village at the innermost end of the fjord of the same name - Eidfjorden is an arm of the Hardangerfjord, Norway's second longest. Don't confuse it with Eidsfjord near Nordfjordeid further north - cruise ships go to both.
Small village, only about 500 people, but one of Norway's wealthiest municipalities thanks to hydropower. In the 1970s the population doubled when construction began on the Sima power station - Norway's second largest, hidden 700 metres inside the mountain in Simadalen. The project brought roads and tunnels, transforming the area. Before 1974 the mountain farm at Kjeåsen, 600 metres above the fjord, had no road at all - residents carried everything up by foot for over 300 years. One house reportedly took 30 years to build, plank by plank.
People have lived here for 4,000 years. At Hæreid, a 20-minute walk from centre, you'll find western Norway's largest Iron Age and Viking burial site - 350 graves from 400 to 1000 AD. The old stone church at Lægreid dates from 1309.
Today Eidfjord is a major cruise destination itself. The port opened in 2005 and receives over 80 ships annually. On cruise days, things get busy.