Eidfjord is situated at the end of the Eid Fjord, an inner branch of the large Hardangerfjorden.

Eidfjord has several tourist sites, like the Sima Power Plant which is built into the mountain itself, the Måbødalen valley, and the Vøringsfossen waterfall which has a free fall of 182 metres (597 ft).

Large parts of the Hardangervidda (Europe's largest mountain plateau) are located in Eidfjord.

[6] The parish of Graven (later spelled "Granvin") was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).

In 1895, a small part of Eidfjord (population: 3) was transferred back to Ulvik Municipality.

[9][10] The municipality (originally the annex parish) is named after the Eid Fjord (Old Norse: Eiðafjörðr) since the first Eidfjord Church was built there.

The name of the farm derives from the word eið which means "isthmus", referring to the land between the fjord and the lake Eidfjordvatnet.

The official blazon is "Azure, a reindeer antler argent" (Norwegian: På blå grunn eit kvitt reinsdyrgevir).

The antler has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.

The reason for including Eidfjord was that the regions of Hallingdal and Valdres belonged to the bishop of Stavanger and the easiest way to reach them from Stavanger was by sailing up the Hardangerfjord to Eidfjord, and then traveling over the Hardangervidda plateau to Hallingdal and Valdres.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Eidfjord is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms.