Chasing Waterfalls in Iceland: My Three Most Beautiful Picks

The country has over three thousand NAMED waterfalls and countless unnamed. They thunder over rocky mega-crevasses left by million year old volcanic eruptions. Deafening. Hypnotic. Intimidating. These are Iceland’s “Foss” or falls which, along with their fjords and the glaciers, define the country’s landscape.

Here are three of my favorites:

Seljalandsfoss

This 1.2-mile out-and-back trail near Þórsmerkurvegur is an easy, but slippery hike once you’ve climbed down into the area behind the falls. That’s right, behind!

Seljalandsfoss waterfall in southern Iceland is one of the few waterfalls in Iceland that you can actually walk behind. There is a path that leads you from the front of the waterfall around to the back and you will get wet from the spray so best to wear hiking boots and rain gear. The view is incomparable. Seljalandsfoss, along with Skogafoss, is often included in the Golden Circle route. The Golden Circle is the most popular tourist route in Iceland, including Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss waterfall and Thingvellir National Park. These attractions are popular for a good reason, they offer a great chance to see beautiful landscape and spectacular natural phenomena. 

And you can watch and listen to the roaring water by clicking on my video below…

Godafoss

Goðafoss waterfall is located in the river Skjálfandafljót in north Iceland, the country’s fourth-largest river. It is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland falling from a height of forty feet and spanning one hundred feet.

It is said Ljósvetningagoði lay under a fur blanket for a day and a night in silence, praying to his Old Gods for the right decision. Eventually, he emerged and said, for the good of the people, Christianity would be the official religion, but pagans could practice in private.
To symbolize his decision, he returned to his home in north Iceland and threw idols of the Old Gods into a beautiful waterfall. Since then, it would be known as Goðafoss.

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Watch my video visit at the falls…

Gullfoss

As you continue along the Golden Circle in the south of Iceland, stunning views of the massive, two-tiered Gullfoss Waterfall will greet you. I visited in July but in winter, the view is also spectacular when the waterfall freezes over into waves of glistening ice. That’s if you can stand the frigid temps, darkness and high winds…

Better to go in spring or summer!

On sunny days you are treated to thousands of rainbows, a natural reaction with the clouds of spray from the tumbling falls.

When all else failed, Sigridur threatened to throw herself in the waterfall in protest. Fortunately it did not have to come to that. With the help of her lawyer Sveinn Bjornsson, who later became the first president of Iceland, she managed to have the contract annulled. That’s how Gullfoss became the property of the people of Iceland.

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Watch my video of the mighty Gullfoss here.

Iceland’s many waterfalls are rich in myth and legend and these enchanting stories are integrated into the histories of the country’s natural wonders. Enjoy the view!