Very Easy
The largest of three waterfalls along the Storana river in Årdal, Hjelmeland, Hiafossen drops roughly 35 metres through a gorge named after the old mountain farm Hia. The trail from the parking at Nes follows a historic construction road built between 1907 and 1912 by Swedish migrant workers, the so-called rallare, to help farmers drive livestock to summer pastures. An estimated 11,000 sheep, 200 cattle, and dozens of horses used this route each year. In 2020 the path became Rogaland's first officially designated Historic Walking Route, a joint project between the Norwegian Trekking Association and Riksantikvaren.
Seven people have drowned at Hiafossen over the years. Farmers used to cross the river in a pool just above the falls, a deadly gamble in flood conditions. The most documented accident happened on 28 May 1833, when three boys aged 10, 12, and 15 were swept over the precipice after an oar broke in their rowboat. An information sign at the waterfall commemorates these drownings.
The river's water flow depends heavily on hydropower regulation. Nilsebuvatnet, the lake above the falls, is a reservoir for Lyse Energi's Lysebotn power station, and upper tributaries were diverted north to Kvilldal power plant as part of the massive Ulla-Førre development in the 1970s and 1980s, Norway's largest hydroelectric facility. The waterfall is most impressive when water is released from the reservoir or during heavy rainfall. Below the falls, the Storana is known as the pearl of Rogaland for salmon fishing, with 30 kilometres of salmon-bearing stretches and fish averaging over five kilograms.
Seven people have drowned at Hiafossen over the years. Farmers used to cross the river in a pool just above the falls, a deadly gamble in flood conditions. The most documented accident happened on 28 May 1833, when three boys aged 10, 12, and 15 were swept over the precipice after an oar broke in their rowboat. An information sign at the waterfall commemorates these drownings.
The river's water flow depends heavily on hydropower regulation. Nilsebuvatnet, the lake above the falls, is a reservoir for Lyse Energi's Lysebotn power station, and upper tributaries were diverted north to Kvilldal power plant as part of the massive Ulla-Førre development in the 1970s and 1980s, Norway's largest hydroelectric facility. The waterfall is most impressive when water is released from the reservoir or during heavy rainfall. Below the falls, the Storana is known as the pearl of Rogaland for salmon fishing, with 30 kilometres of salmon-bearing stretches and fish averaging over five kilograms.
