While many countries can claim to have more waterfalls than Iceland, few can claim to have such an impressive collection of the beautiful jaw-dropping kind. Each waterfall in Iceland seems to be more beautiful than the next, either due to its unique shape, size, flow, and surrounding natural features. No road trip to Iceland is complete without checking several of Iceland’s most stunning and beautiful waterfalls off your list.
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Below we present Iceland’s Most Stunning and Beautiful Waterfalls TravelGuide, all of which are reachable by standard 2wd vehicles. They will be presented roughly in the order that we visited them, following a counter-clockwise loop around Iceland’s Ring Road, starting in Reykjavik. At the bottom of the page, you will also find a map highlighting the exact location of each waterfall.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is probably Iceland’s most famous and most photographed waterfall, and it is also probably the first waterfall people visit as it is part of Iceland’s Golden Circle (a 300 km route of Iceland’s three most popular natural attractions). It’s a also just short 90 min drive from the capital Reykjavik.
Apart from its size and beauty, what makes Gullfoss particularly special are the numerous different viewpoints from which one can admire its multi-step drops and the spectacular canyon below the final drop.
Because it is so popular, you will rarely, if ever, have the falls to yourself. Busload after busload of tourists come here during the day, so it’s ideal if you can get here very early in the morning or late in the day.
Hlálparfoss
In stark contrast to Gullfoss, Hlalparfoss is somewhat off the beaten track, and when we visited there was only one other car in the parking lot. It was the second waterfall we visited in Iceland and is roughly an hour’s drive from Gullfoss.
Hjálparfoss is also an extremely unique waterfall, as it’s actually two waterfalls in one. It marks the spot where the rivers Fossá and Þjórsá meet. The two rivers fall from a lava field at about a 45-degree angle from each other, and their cascades merge as they tumble over the edge.
Both of these rivers are renowned as some of Iceland’s best and most easily accessible fishing rivers, hence the fisherman seen in the pool below the falls, while Þjórsá also takes the title of being the country’s longest.
Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss waterfall is another extremely popular waterfall in South Iceland. Although not part of the Golden Circle, it’s conveniently along Iceland’s Ring Road, roughly a 90min drive from Reykjavik.
What makes Seljalandsfoss particularly interesting is one of its unique features: you can go for a stroll behind the falls! This behind-the-fall walking path will provide you with amazing vantage points from which to admire the falls.
Again, like Gullfoss, these waterfalls get very busy and the parking lot isn’t very large, so it’s definitely to come early or late in the day.
Skógafoss
Another 20-25 min down the Ring Road from Seljalandsfoss (going east) you will find thundering Skogafoss. Where Seljalandsfoss has a walking path behind the falls, Skogafoss has one going to the top to provide you with amazing views from above the falls.
It’s actually not uncommon to get a great rainbow when visiting Skogafoss!
Svartifoss
The Svartifoss waterfall is the final waterfall on our list located in southwest Iceland, more precisely located in the Skaftafell Nature Reserve.
The literal translation of Svartifoss is Black Falls, likely because of the impressive surrounding dark basalt columns (which are said to have inspired the columnar architecture of the Hallgrimskirkja church in Reykjavik).
It’s only one of two waterfalls on this list that you can’t visit from the car park. You’ll have to undertake a short 3km (round trip) hike from the Park’s visitor center.
Dettifoss
Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Iceland and the second most powerful waterfall in Europe. The thundering power that emerges from these falls is impressive, somewhat akin to the feeling of being next to Niagara Falls –except here you can get so much closer to the falls.
Dettifoss is a bit off the beaten track of the Ring Road, requiring either a 25 or 45min drive north (depending on which viewpoint you want to visit; see next paragraph). But it is well worth the detour as, in addition to Dettifoss, you can also admire the views of the spectacular Jökulsárgljúfur canyon by just looking in the opposite direction of the falls (second picture above) and visit Hafragilsfoss, which lies just a few hundred meters further down (north) the canyon. And if you walk a few hundred meters in the other direction (south) you’ll up across Selfoss (not pictured here) upstream of Dettifoss.
Viewpoint access: Note that there are actually two access points and parking lots to view the falls, one from the east and one from the west. We chose the one to the east as it offers the best viewpoints and you can get much closer to the falls, but we had to travel on a slower (45 min) bumpy gravel road (864) to get there. The viewpoint to the west however is more easily accessible (paved road) and only takes about 25 min to get there. If you are really keen on seeing both viewpoints, know that the shortest route between them takes about 1 hr.
Godafoss
Literally meaning waterfall of the gods, Godafoss, is quite the spectacular waterfall. It is perfectly situated along the Ring Road, roughly halfway between the scenic Lake Myvatn area and the de-facto capital of north Iceland, Akureyri.
Unfortunately for us, it was raining heavily during our time here, and in our hurry to take quick shots, we didn’t take the time to properly adjust the camera settings….hence the blurry image! Definitely a case of the picture not doing Godafoss justice!
Hraunfossar
These majestic waterfalls actually consist of small streams of water flowing at the edge of the Hallmundarhraun lava field.
Like Dettifoss, these falls are somewhat off the beaten track of the Ring Road, as you’ll need to drive east for roughly 30 min from where the Ring Road crosses Highway 50 (see map below).
This was definitely one of our favourite waterfalls to visit, both because of its beauty and because of how few people were there at the viewpoint with us.
Kirkjufellsfoss
These falls are actually furthest from the Ring Road compared to the other falls on this list. However, the drive to reach it is well worth it as it is located on the spectacular Snæfellsnes peninsula, often referred to as “Iceland in Miniature” or “Iceland in a Nutshell”. This well-deserved nickname was given to the peninsula because of the diversity of its beautiful and stunning landscapes.
Öxarárfoss
Like Svartifoss earlier, Öxarárfoss is located within a National Park and potentially requires a short hike to reach the falls from the parking lot. The park has several parking lots, with one nearby the falls. However, if you park elsewhere, know that a 10-15 min walk is likely required to get here.
Part of Öxarárfoss’ charm is the beautiful river that forms downstream of the falls.
*Bruarfoss, Haifoss
Now, of course, we didn’t get to see all of the waterfalls in Iceland. While we did get to see most of the famously beautiful ones, there are a few that we particularly regret not having had the time to see. The two that top this list are Bruarfoss and Haifoss. Though it is not a long drive on an unpaved road to get to Haifoss – a 4wd with high clearance is nonetheless highly recommended. We didn’t attempt to see it since we didn’t have a 4wd.
Waterfall map
Here’s a map of Iceland’s most stunning and beautiful Waterfalls (including Bruarfoss & Haifoss).
While several of these falls can be visited as part of a day trip from Reykjavik, others require a loop around Iceland’s Ring Road. If you are only interested in waterfalls, that drive might not be worth it, but we highly doubt that you wouldn’t want to see all of the other amazing scenery attractions that Iceland has to offer along the Ring Road and beyond.
We hope you enjoyed our Travel Guide of Iceland’s Most Stunning and Beautiful Waterfalls and that the information provided will be useful in helping you plan your trip to Iceland!
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