Iceland is known as the land of Ice and Fire but here you will also find many waterfalls as well. If you just hit the road or go for a hike, you may find many of those gems lost in the beautiful Icelandic nature. We have listed for you 10 of the most famous and beautiful waterfalls you should visit when coming to Iceland!
This waterfall is rather astonishing with a view over the Kirkjufell mountain that is famous across the world due to its apparition in the serie Game of Thrones. It is located in the West part of the country, in the Snæfellsnes peninsula, so if you are in Reykjavik, you have many day tours bringing you there! You can easily walk around the waterfall to picture this incredible spectacle. The waterfall is 16 meters high and throws itself in a small lake, close to the seaside. The view is incredible whatever the season, under the snow or the midnight sun, you will enjoy it!
Close to Reykjavik and on your way to the famous Golden Circle tour, you cannot miss this impressive waterfall that for sure will amaze you! Located in the Hviter river canyon which waters flow from the glacier Langjökull before reaching this two levels waterfall with a first cascade of 11 meters followed by a second one of 21 meters going straight down to this 70 meters height canyon, the immensity and power of the waterfall will simply be mind blowing!
If you head to the South Coast of Iceland, you must stop by Skógafoss! You can see the waterfall from the road with its width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 meters. Moreover, it’s easily accessible from the parking and shortly by walk. This massive waterfall will make you feel very tiny in comparison. With this huge amount of water cascading, as long as there a bit of sunlight you will always see rainbows appearing! But be aware, if you want to get closer, make sure to wear waterproof clothes! Fun fact: In summer you can even take pictures in the lupins field a bit before the waterfall to have it in the background and it looks stunning, trust us!
A little further in the South Coast, you will find the surprising Svartifoss. To reach it you can park in a camping site with a fee (around 750ISK for a car) and do a little hike. Hidden in the nature, you will find this gem surrounded by basalt columns that you can find in many place in Iceland such as on Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach nearby Vik or the canyon of Stuðlagil in the East or even as a recall on the church of Reykjavik. You can see the waterfall from different angles with a bridge crossing in front of it or higher in the hills around it.
This one is also a tiny tricky since the waterfall is a little bit hidden in a kind of cave. No worries, you won’t need to hike or whatsoever since there is a little path between two walls of rocks allowing you to enter this cave and discover Gljúfrabúi. Get ready to have warm and waterproof clothes over there since the waterfall can be even more splashy if you want to take a pic on top of the big rock in front of it to measure how high the waterfall is!
Only a few meters away by walk from Gljúfrabúi, you will find your next must see waterfall in Iceland: Seljalandsfoss. The particularity of this waterfall is that you can walk behind it and doing so, have pictures of it from every angle possible from this 60 meters tall beauty! Seljalandsfoss is flowing from Seljalands River coming straight from the stratovolcano Eyjafjallajökull that erupted in 2010. From this waterfall you can follow a hiking trail through Þórsmörk, the Valley of Thor where you will witness many other waterfalls!
Famous for its red lines crossing the waterfall’s cliff, Hengifoss is the 2nd highest waterfall that you will find in Iceland with its 128.5 meters height! To reach this waterfall you will have to do a little hike of 50 minutes depending where you park. On your way to Hengifoss you will most likely pass by Litlanesfoss, which is a smaller waterfall surrounded by basalt columns. The hiking difficulty is rather moderate but you have to be careful with the weather according to the season.
Located, this time, in the North part of Iceland, Dettifoss will completely surprise you with its powerful flow, considered as the strongest of Europe, with an average waterflow of 193 meters cubed per second. The waterfall flows from the glacier river Jökulsá á Fjöllum coming straight from the biggest glacier in Europe Vatnajökull and going down to Jökulsárgljúfur canyon. A detail that is important to know in case you want to visit Dettifoss, Google maps and other maps apps might lead you to the gravel road 864, that is reachable only by 4×4, instead of the paved road 862.
If you plan to pass by the Westfjords, you should definitely stop by Dynjandi! This incredible waterfall will take your breath out! It is one of the biggest in the Westfjords area, with its 100 meters height. You will have a little hike to reach the waterfall, around 15 minutes, and on your way you will have the chance to see 6 other waterfalls.
Haifoss is the third tallest waterfall in Iceland that you will find in the South part of the country with its 122 meters height. To reach the waterfall, you will have to pass by a bumpy gravel road that is better to use only with a 4×4 so it’s usually better to go there in summer under the best conditions. You can also reach the place with a hiking path following the river starting from the farm of Þjóðveldisbærinn Stöng.