Waterfall. I think the first word that comes to mind when you say Iceland. There are so many waterfalls that you can’t even count them (and most importantly, after a while you will stop counting them). Some will enchant you with their power, others will disgust you with the crowds of tourists.
Thanks to Vašek, who likes to take pictures of water, we got to a lot of waterfalls, and I decided to give you the five most beautiful ones that really impressed me. And as a bonus, I will add one very popular one, which, however, has gone through the ground. So wake up!
1. Gullfoss
Or the Golden Waterfall. One of the first waterfalls we had the opportunity to visit. If you are planning Iceland for only a few days, you should not miss this waterfall, because it is part of the so-called Golden Circuit. Since we had slept at Geysir’s camp the night before, which is only 10 kilometers from the waterfall, we decided to get up and see Gullfoss at dawn.
It was damn cold. It was blowing up on the viewing platform and we were constantly moving in the water mist. We met a whole ONE Asian.
But the waterfall.
That heaven.
Rising Sun.
It looked something like this…
Well tell me, wasn’t it worth it? You just stand up there, watching, listening to the roar of the water, and you don’t really understand how it’s even possible that nature was able to create something like that. The waterfall has two parts – the first cascading and the second, when the water is lost and rolls into the valley. The waterfall can be reached on foot along almost at hand, just get ready to return a little wet 🙂
2. Haifoss
We had to go to the highlands behind the waterfall, and it was the first time I tried driving practically offroad. Although the road to the waterfall is not restricted (roads designated F are reserved for quad bikes), I would not recommend taking a compact car there because the road is very rough.
We didn’t meet many cars on the way, so this photo could have been created:
3. Gódafoss
The gods’ waterfall. It was named after a historical incident in which an Icelandic leader decided to accept Christianity as a legitimate religion by tossing pagan statues down the waterfall. Gódafoss is located beside the road, directly behind Lake Mvaln.
To me, the waterfall resembled a miniature Niagara Falls. The waterfall is shaped like a horseshoe and is virtually at your fingertips. It was flooded, as with many other waterfalls, and the access roads were a little more difficult to navigate, and the water was muddy, but we did get to see the waterfall in full power.
4. Dynjandi
The most magnificent waterfall in Iceland, in my opinion. We drove 400 kilometers because of that, but seeing the Westfjords, one of the island’s oldest portions, soaking in the Hellalaug spring, and seeing the Dynjandi as a cherry on top was well worth it.
I was not cooked at all, according to the images, but Vaek stated it was worth it. As a result, we went.
And the kid was usually correct! Looking uphill from the parking area, you can see the flowing magnificence of the river, which leads to many lesser waterfalls. Upstairs, you’ll be immediately below the waterfall, which is enormous in person! In addition, the cascades gave me the impression that the water was moving.
5. Glymur
Glymur is the highest waterfall in Iceland (not counting the newly formed glacier, which is inaccessible to people) and falls into the gorge from a height of almost 200 meters.
It’s a wonderful trip with really great views, both to the canyon and to the countryside. Be careful along the way, don’t take any risks on the overhangs (we in the photo we are sitting almost on the edge of the rock and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling!) And enjoy the absolutely perfect nature.
There are countless places worth hiking for a few hours – unfortunately we had a lot of ugly mountains in the Rainbow Mountains, so we gave up the planned hike there, in the end we decided to conquer the highest waterfall in Iceland – Glymur.
In my opinion, it is quite a simple trek, which you can go either up and down the same route or with less wading as a circular route. We chose variant two as part of the larger adrenaline. In total, this walk with a perch, photo shoot and wading will take you about 4 hours.
All the time you move at the top of the valley through which the river Botnsá flows, where you will find this 200m high monster. When it comes around and around, you never see the whole waterfall, unless you really lean a lot and you better not risk it. Even so, the view is worth it, isn’t it?
