{"id":2285,"date":"2015-02-26T18:00:06","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T16:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/?p=2285"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:14:38","slug":"top-10-beautiful-accessible-waterfalls-of-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/top-10-beautiful-accessible-waterfalls-of-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 most beautiful and accessible waterfalls of Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iceland<\/strong> is a well-known paradise for photographers but also for nature lovers, with its 103,000\u00a0km2<\/sup> of raw nature. There is no other place on earth to experience fully what nature has to offer, from active volcanoes, mountains, glaciers, lava fields to the northern lights or the midnight sun.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to relaxation, there is nothing more soothing than the sound of running water. Iceland is home to a number of large and powerful waterfalls, so different from each other… Here is a selection of the best waterfalls you can easily encounter<\/strong> during a road trip around the island. Embrace nature, escape the stress of your busy life and let\u2019s travel to Iceland together. One of the best ways to explore these sights is with a 4×4 camper rental<\/a> as you can truly experience them without people and with a lot of flexibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

#1 <\/strong>Sk\u00f3gafoss<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The South of Iceland is famous for its iconic and easily accessible waterfalls, and Sk\u00f3gafoss<\/strong> is one of them, with a width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 meters. It may seem familiar to you as it appeared in the film Thor, the Dark world. A trail leads to the top (via metal stairs to the right of the waterfall) and up to the Sk\u00f3g\u00e1 river valley<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sk\u00f3gafoss\"

Sk\u00f3gafoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

You can enjoy a beautiful view of the valley but it can be challenging to climb all these steps<\/strong>! A lot of tourists are always packed there, as it is easily accessible from the main road, even with a regular car, but I still recommend braving the crowds and having a look!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sk\u00f3gafoss\"<\/a>

Sk\u00f3gafoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#2 Hj\u00e1lparfoss <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hj\u00e1lparfoss<\/strong> is also situated in the South of Iceland, but at the entrance of the Highlands and quite far away from the coastline. However, it is easily accessible as it is located roughly 30 km East of Fl\u00fa\u00f0ir<\/strong>, at the end of road 32. <\/span><\/p>\n

From the car park, it is an easy descending walking path to the falls. Hj\u00e1lparfoss is a double waterfall that joined at its base, where the rivers Foss\u00e1<\/strong> and \u00dej\u00f3rs\u00e1<\/strong> join, with a very unique look!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hj\u00e1lparfoss\"<\/a>

Hj\u00e1lparfoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#3 Kolufossar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Koluglj\u00fafur <\/strong>is<\/strong> a beautiful gorge (20-25 m deep and 2 km long) situated in the North of Iceland. The legend tells this was the home of Kola the troll and the waterfall inside this gorge was named after her. Kolufossar<\/strong> is breathtaking, with the numerous falls plunging into a deep gorge. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can reach these falls when driving West from Bl\u00f6ndu\u00f3s<\/strong> for about 50 km. Once you reach Kolugil Farm<\/strong>, which stands beside the V\u00ed\u00f0idals\u00e1 river<\/strong>, you are not that far away!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kolufossar\"<\/a>

Kolufossar, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#4 <\/strong>Fjallfoss <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When driving in and out the Westfjords, you can\u2019t miss this iconic waterfall, also called \u201cThe Mountain falls<\/strong>\u201d. This is in fact a series of waterfalls<\/a>, with a cumulative height of 100 meters, but the biggest and the most photographed one is Dynjandi waterfall<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

This waterfall came from Dynjandis\u00e1 river<\/strong>, a glacial river that dropped off a cliff, forming a bride\u2019s veil shape waterfall that was approximatively 30 meters wide at its top and 60 meters at its bottom.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Fjallfoss\"

Fjallfoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Below the main waterfall, a series of 6 cascades connected the glacial water to the sea. The names of the other waterfalls are H\u00e6stahjallafoss<\/strong>, Strompglj\u00fafrafoss<\/strong>, G\u00f6ngumannafoss<\/strong>, Hr\u00edsva\u00f0sfoss<\/strong>, Hundafoss<\/strong> and B\u00e6jarfoss<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

I recommend hiking on top to be able to see all these little falls downstream of Dynjandi! Situated roughly at 45 minutes from \u00deingeyri<\/strong>, this was my favorite waterfall of the Westfjords!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Fjallfoss,<\/a>

Fjallfoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#5 Hraunfossar <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Another amazing waterfall is also located at the entrance of the Highlands, six kilometers West of H\u00fasafell<\/strong> on Route 518. Hraunfossar<\/strong> means \u201clava falls\u201d because the waterfall consists of countless springs of clear water emerging from under the edge of the Grahraun Lava Field<\/strong> and flowing into the Hv\u00edt\u00e1 river<\/strong>. It\u2019s quite unique and beautiful! <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hraunfossar\"<\/a>

Hraunfossar, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#6 Go\u00f0afoss <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Go\u00f0afoss<\/strong> waterfall is situated in the North part of Iceland, also called \u201cthe waterfall of the Gods\u201d, and sometimes nicknamed by some locals as \u201cThe Beauty\u201d in comparison to \u201cThe Beast\u201d (which is Dettifoss). It could not be truer; this waterfall is wonderful, and very pleasing to the eye!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Go\u00f0afoss\"<\/a>

Go\u00f0afoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

From the car park, there is a short path to the waterfall and it is easily accessible! You have the choice of going down to the river level to look at the waterfall from its base or to go up to where you can see the waterfall from its top. You can decide to do both and I would recommend doing so! <\/span><\/p>\n

There is also a footbridge that provided a convenient access from the West to the East bank as well as a more frontal view of Geitafoss<\/strong>, which was a smaller waterfall further downstream of Go\u00f0afoss.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Go\u00f0afoss<\/a>

Go\u00f0afoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#7 <\/strong>Selfoss<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Selfoss<\/strong> is a horseshoe-shaped waterfall located in the north of Iceland, near the river J\u00f6kuls\u00e1 \u00e1 Fj\u00f6llum<\/strong>, inside the Vatnajokull National Park<\/strong>. The falls are not very high (11 meters) but gorgeous. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a short straightforward walking path upstream of Dettifoss. Many people will stop at Dettifoss and go no further … but Selfoss is just as good, believe me!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Selfoss\"<\/a>

Selfoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#8 Hengifoss <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hengifoss waterfall<\/strong> is one of the highest waterfalls in Iceland. The top of Hengifoss is about 450 meters above the sea level. To reach the waterfall, you have to pass near a first waterfall, Litlanesfoss<\/strong>, with its surrounding basalt columns, at 2 km from the car park. The hike seems short but it is quite steep! <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Litlanesfoss,<\/a>

Litlanesfoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

If you continue for another 2 km, you will reach Hengifoss<\/strong>. The red patterns on the cliffs are quite impressive and it\u2019s something we don\u2019t typically see in other waterfalls. The red stripes are layers of red clay sandwiched between layers of basalt. When the lava flowed over the acidic soil, the iron reacted with oxygen, resulting in reddish colors in the intermediate layers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hengifoss\"<\/a>

Hengifoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#9 Gullfoss <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Gullfoss<\/strong>, also named \u201cthe Golden falls\u201d, is probably one of the most visited waterfalls of the whole country, as part of the \u201cGolden circle\u201d, a popular day tour for most tourists visiting Iceland for the first time. A very slippery trail descends to the gorge carved out by the falls and leads to brinks of both the lower and upper tiers of Gullfoss. <\/span><\/p>\n

From there, you can enjoy the power of the water plunging into a 32 meters deep and narrow canyon. On sunny days, you can enjoy a shimmering rainbow over the falls. You will probably end wet from the mist generated by this powerful waterfall, but it\u2019s worth it!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gullfoss\"<\/a>

Gullfoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

#10 Dettifoss <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dettifoss <\/strong>is<\/strong> Europe\u2019s most powerful waterfall (for the record, it\u2019s the waterfall you can see in Prometheus). The milky color of the waterfall is apparently due to the presence of the sediment-rich waters of the Vatnaj\u00f6kull glacier<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

From the car park to Dettifoss it\u2019s a 30 minutes walk to the brink of the falls. By the time you reach the falls, you will be completely drenched by the drops and mist blown away from the waterfall\u2026 don\u2019t forget your waterproof!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dettifoss\"<\/a>

Dettifoss, Iceland<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Author:\u00a0Gin,<\/strong> from the blog\u00a0Darwin on the rocks and around the world<\/a>,<\/strong> is a travel blogger who is in love with Iceland. For more information about this magical place, have a look at her blog<\/a>. Photo credits: https:\/\/beautifuliceland.worpdress.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Would you visit Iceland just to see these amazing waterfalls? I know I would.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iceland is a well-known paradise for photographers but also for nature lovers, with its 103,000\u00a0km2 of raw nature. There is no other place on earth to experience fully what nature has to offer, from active volcanoes, mountains, glaciers, lava fields to the northern lights or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[273,364],"tags":[174,577,3,365],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Skaftafell_National_Park_iceland-1.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2285"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11159,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285\/revisions\/11159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}