The waterfall was hardly known by anyone other than locals until 1821. In that year professor Christopher Hansteen, who was on his way to the Hardangervidda plateau to make astronomical observations, estimated the height of the waterfall to be about 280 metres (920 ft) by throwing stones down from the edge and measuring the time they took to fall with his pocket watch. In 1893 it was measured with a string, and the real height was revealed to be 163 metres (535 ft).

In 1880 Ola Garen decided to build a hotel at top of the waterfall. The only way up there was a path with 1,500 stairs up Måbøbjerget together with a bridle path that had been built in 1872 to carry English tourists to the waterfall. In 1891 a new road with tunnels was built along Eidfjordvandet, and in the same year the Fossli Hotel was finished,[1] designed in Art Nouveau style by architect Frederik Konow Lund. All materials for the construction had to be carried on horseback from Eidfjord up to the top of the hill.[1] Around the year 1900 large cruise ships began to visit Eidfjord, and from there passengers were transported by horse and wagon up the valley.

The composer Edvard Grieg had a log cabin nearby and was a frequent visitor to the falls.[2]