Orvvosfossen Waterfall Hike – Like in a Zen Garden, Norway

Orvvosfossen is a waterfall you can only hike to in the Norwegian Arctive, close to the town of Alta. This waterfall was one of the nicest finds in the area.

The waterfall is quite small, but what I think sets it apart, are its surroundings.

Orvvosfossen.

With many trees and a lot of rocks and vegetation, it almost felt as if I was in a zen or in a botanical garden. Maybe this feeling was aimplfied by the amazing fall colors in the area, or maybe because I was the only one there.

Regardless, one can safely say the waterfall is in a beautiful location – a bit of an oasis too if you will. Absolutely worth the relatively short out-and-back hike if you are in the area for for Alta Canyon, or are just lookin for short hikes around Alta.

Table of Contents

Overview of the Orvvosfossen Waterfall Hike & Map

This is a relatively easy walk, and you can combine it with the nearby Alta Canyon Hike. I did both on the same day too, first the canyon and then Orvvosfossen.

You can also visit Orvvosfossen in winter via a guided snowshoe tour.

Here is the map of the hike. You can download the GPX file for free, should you wish to do so.

How to get to the Orvvosfossen trailhead and Parking

The drive from Alta to the trailhead takes about 30 minutes. The Orvvosfossen trailhead is located in Gargia, a small village in the countryside.

• Driving Directions: From Road E6, in Alta, whether you are coming from North or South, turn onto Road 45, then turn into Gargiaveien and follow it until Gargia. Keep driving past Gargia for a couple hundred meters, to the end of the paved road.
• Parking: The parking is relatively big, and it’s right where the paved road ends in Gargia.
• Public Transport: there is a bus stop in Gargia, which is where the trailhead is. For the timetable check snelandia.no.

The Orvvosfossen Hiking Trail

From the parking area, you would need to walk back toward the Gargia mountain hut and walk behind it. the first part of the trail is properly maintained there are signs, a couple of bridges, and some walkboards.

It may feel as if you’re trespassing, but the trail is just behind the hut.

The Gargia Hut

The trail is just behind the hut, where there is a bridge across the river.

There will be signs pointing to the waterfall here and there. The first part of the trail is almost entirely in a forest. After about half an hour of hiking, the vegetation will gradually become more sparse, isolated, beautiful trees here and there.

I stopped several times to look at trees on the trail. At this latitude, autumn colors had already kicked in by mid-September, making the scenery all the more pleasant. With birds singing here and there, the sound of the water falling, and the warm late afternoon light, I felt like I really was entering some sort of forgotten corner of paradise.

But back to the trail; the last part is also where most of the elevation gains and it’s not long before the waterfall appears just behind a turn.

There is a maze of trails around the waterfalls, some across the river, some leading up to a nearby outcrop. It’s worth exploring them all or just sitting and enjoying the river and some of the scenery.

Orvvosfossen, view approaching the waterfall frm the trail

Orvvosfossen Photos and Photography Tips

As mentioned this location is beautiful and it’s a bit like being in a zen garden, I found endless composition in between trees ans on either side of the falls.

A couple of things to consider: if you can visit in autumn, you’ll have plenty of beautiful colors around. However, the volume of water going through the falls may be reduced unless there was a recent rainfall. Earlier in the season, during the thaw, the waterfall will be much more powerful.

Personally I found a 24mm (full frame) worked best. There are a lot of big, slippery boulders around the waterfall so it is not easy to get to close to it. Maybe with a bigger water volume it makes sense to try a wider lense. However in autumn, with a smaller flow, the waterfall almost disappeared – or looked way too small.

But again, the surroundings are beautiful and it makes sense to take a step back from a wide angle and include as much of the scenery as possible.

Plenty of foreground and trees to play with.

Especially with trees I enjoyed trying some more carefully comsposed shots of the falls in between some of the available leafs and branches. I psobably spent almost an hour trying to shoot as many different compositiions as I could find – and I felt they were almost endless, so I had to just stop at some point.

Anyway, purely on my scale of fun locations to shoot at, this would score a good 9/10. Plenty of room and compositions to keep you busy!

Where to stay

The Gargia mountain lodge is right by the trailhead. I have not stayed there but it does look great. Definitely, a place to consider if you’d like to spend the night in a quiet place in the middle of nature.

There also are a few guesthouses on the road to Gargia – otherwise, there are plenty of accommodations to choose from back towards Alta.

Additional Resources

• Consider combining this hike with the one to the Alta Canyon. That’s what I did too.
• Check out the main page on Hiking in Norway (with Maps) to discover more beautiful hikes and locations.