Mar­torps­fal­let*

Mar­torps­fal­let is at its most beau­ti­ful in ear­ly spring. This is when the volu­me of water is at its hig­hest and the water floods over the edge of the cleft.

In the sum­mer mont­hs the water­fall may dry up com­ple­tely as most of the water drains under­ground through cracks in the bedrock.

You get the best view of the water­fall and rock for­ma­tions if you head down the edge of the cleft to see the falls from below. Around 9000 years ago, when the inland ice was mel­ting, the sea reached this level for some time. The waves scou­red out caves whe­re the limesto­ne was a litt­le sof­ter, lea­ving behind pil­lars of har­der sto­ne. The­se are remi­ni­scent of the limesto­ne stacks on Öland and Got­land. The limesto­ne lay­er is rich in ort­ho­ce­ra­ti­tes and other pet­ri­fi­ed ani­mals (fos­sils), that lived in the sea mil­li­ons of years ago.

The path to the falls runs through over­grown pastu­re land that has now become wood­land and is popu­la­ted by many dif­fe­rent shrubs and tree spe­ci­es. In small open gla­des in the woods you can find ear­ly pur­p­le orchids, which thri­ve in the lime-rich soil. The limesto­ne cleft by the falls is main­ly popu­la­ted by lar­ge elm tre­es. With a bit of luck, you may see white-thro­a­ted dip­pers in the fast-flowing water.