Sandvinvatnet is the lake at the southern edge of Odda, separating the town from Oddadalen. It covers just over four square kilometres and is fed by meltwater from the Buarbreen glacier to the west.
The landscape here may have inspired one of Norway's most famous paintings. "Brudeferd i Hardanger" by Tidemand and Gude, painted in 1848, shows a bridal procession crossing a fjord. The mountains along the western shore of Sandvinvatnet match the painting well, though Gude himself said the scene was a composite rather than a specific location.
In the 1890s, a steamboat called Buar operated on the lake, taking tourists to see the glacier. It ran for ten years before closing due to poor profits.
Today you can kayak on the lake, and Trolltunga Camping sits on the shore. The Buarbreen glacier is visible to the west, and waterfalls cascade down the valley walls on both sides.