With a length of 179 km (111 miles) the Hardangerfjord in the county of Hordaland, is the third largest fjord in the world. The surrounding landscape is called Hardanger.

The Hardangerfjord starts at the Atlantic Ocean just south of Bergen (SW Norway). Here the fjord penetrates in a north easterly direction until it meets the grand mountain plateau of Hardangervidda. The longest branch of the Hardangerfjord is Sørfjorden who cut south about 50 km from the main fjord. Its maximum depth is more than 800 m (2624 ft) just outside Norheimsund in the middle of the fjord.

About 10,000 years ago the Scandinavian land mass started to rise up as enormous glacial ice started to melt. The lower parts of the valleys became flooded, and so created what we today know as the Hardangerfjord. The valley was originally not only made through glacier erosion but by the high pressure melting water which pushed its way beneath the ice.

On the Folgefonn peninsula which belongs to the Hardangerfjord, the third largest glacier in Norway is found. The Folgefonn glacier is with its three parts covering an area of 220 km² (85sq mi), and an area which in 2005 becomes protected as a national park.

The history of the fjord goes far beyond its Viking history to hunters on the surrounding mountains and later farming along this fertile area which today is considered the fruit orchard of Norway. Later the fjord became the birthplace for larger tourism influx to Norway, and in 1875 Thomas Cook started with weekly cruise departures from London to the Hardangerfjord, due to its spectacular nature, glaciers and grand waterfalls. Soon after this many of the major waterfalls became the source for large industries in fjord settlements as Odda.

Today the Hardangerfjord witness a renaissance in tourism and new infrastructures for travellers have once again started to become an industry for the local communities along the fjord.

The contemporary fjord is divided among the 13 municipalities Bømlo, Eidfjord, Etne, Granvin, Jondal, Kvam, Kvinnherad, Odda, Sund, Sveio, Tysnes, Ullensvang and Ulvik. Total number of inhabitants for all these municipalities is only a bit more than 70 thousand - on a total area of 8471 km².