Welcome to the Iceland waterfalls guide. From the iconics Godafoss, Gulfoss, Dettifoss, Skogafoss to more discrete waterfalls in Iceland. After many trips in Iceland, it’s time for me to share my knowledge and experience with you , this extensive guide about waterfall in Iceland comes to point. The most iconic Waterfall in iceland are very impressive not only by the size but also with powerful stream. Many have magnificent basins carved into the basalt base by the waves or by the catastrophic floodings of the past .

Iceland Waterfalls Guide

Table of contents

Godafoss

One of the most beautiful waterfall in this iceland waterfall guide, Godafoss is one of my favorite waterfall in Iceland. I could stay hours to photography it. It has a superb horseshoe-shape . The two banks of the waterfall are photogenic. My favorite weather conditions is when Godafoss is under snow.

landscape Godafoss in winter - Iceland
The Godafoss waterfall in winter – Iceland

Godafoss can be access very easily from the road 1. It is located to the north between Akureyri and the Lake Myvatn

A small parking after the N1 station on the 844 road allows the access to the East bank .

Tips : The site is sometimes very windy in winter. Often i need to stay on my knee upon snow , holding tight my tripod.

Bring some handkerchiefs or cotton for clean the lens of your camera. The strong wind project snow or rain in winter.

For photographers , bring a neutral density filter for get some somptuous long exposure shot.

location coordinates GPS : 65.682878, -17.550214
65°40’58.4″N 17°33’00.8″W

Iceland - Godafoss waterfall
Iceland – Godafoss waterfall
Godafoss waterfall  - Iceland - nordic landscape
Godafoss waterfall – Iceland – nordic landscape

Aldeyjarfoss

Aldeyjarfoss is a majestic waterfall In Iceland and one of my favorite with Godafoss which she is not too much far. They are both located in the highlands of North Iceland between Akureyri and the lake Myvatn .

The waterfall Aldeyjarfoss is of an amazing beauty, surrounded by basalt column, The stream pours in a horseshoe-shape basin.

You can access Aldeyjarfoss from the road 1 by the road 842 , a gravel road, and by the road F26 more rocky with a 4 wheel drive car, relatively easily in summer . This part could be hard in deep winter with heavy snow and you may need to rent a super jeep and/or a guide . In the heart of winter 2015, I try to access by the road 843 parallel to the river. After a scary passage on a small bridge cover by heavy snow with my 4 wheel . We finally give up the final walk to the waterfall due to heavy wind and snow projection.

During my recent visit, the water was very muddy and greyish so I only shoot some long exposure photography. My settings were F18, Iso 100. exposure time 30 seconds with a ND1000 neutral density filter. I hope to come back Aldeyjarfoss in winter for get a magnificent blue water and get some good shots.

Aldeyjarfoss waterfall - cascade - Iceland - long exposure black and white
Aldeyjarfoss waterfall – cascade – Iceland – long exposure black and white
Iceland - Aldeyjarfoss waterfall /cascade - long exposure black and white
Iceland – Aldeyjarfoss waterfall /cascade – long exposure black and white

location coordinates GPS : 65.366643, -17.337055
65°21’59.9″N 17°20’13.4″W

Kirkjufellfoss

landscape - Kirkjufellfoss in winter - kirkjufell - iceland
landscape -Kirkjufellfoss in winter – kirkjufell – iceland

No need to present the Kirkjufell, iconic mountain of the Snaefellnes peninsula, Kirkjufellfoss is the very photogenic small waterfall of the Kirkjufellsa river. Kirkjufellfoss is very easy to reach from road 54 past the town of Grundarfjordur. A small path leads directly to the waterfall from the small parking lot (beware of slipping in the presence of ice).

location coordinates GPS : 64.926749, -23.311337
64°55’34.7″N 23°18’39.3″W

kirkjufell mountain - iceland
kirkjufell mountain – iceland
kirkjufellfoss - iceland
kirkjufellfoss – iceland

Skogafoss

skogafoss waterfall - iceland
skogafoss waterfall – iceland

Skogafoss is a huge and iconic waterfall of the South Iceland on the Skoga river. The water drop from a height of 60 meters. Many birds surround the waterfall and live on the cliff. The cliffs are the old coastline of South Iceland in the time where the level of water was more high.

The access to Skogafoss is very easy from the road 1.

If you want shoot some long exposure you may need to arrive very early due to the massive amount of tourist and photographers or combine many shoot in photoshop for remove silhouette. Near the waterfall , protect your camera , the spray are very strong and thick.

location coordinates GPS : 63.532127, -19.511421

63°31’55.7″N 19°30’41.1″W

Details - Skogafoss waterfall
Details – Skogafoss waterfall
skogafoss -waterfall - iceland
skogafoss -waterfall – iceland
skogafoss - Ice details
skogafoss – Ice details

Gulfoss

Gulfoss in winter - waterfall - landscape - iceland
Gulfoss in winter – waterfall – landscape – iceland

Gulfoss is a must-see on the golden circle tours in southwest Iceland on the Hvita river. You can easily combine his visit with a visit to the Strokkur and Geysir geysers as well as a visit to the Europe – America plate collapse ditch located at Tingvellir on Lake Tingvallavatn

The waterfall is accessible by road 35 and has a parking lot and a store-restaurant establishment
Gulfoss with a total width of 70 meters and a total height of 32 meters is a cascade of several floors.

The flooding of the waves in the crevasse is impressive. During my visits in winter, the trail leading to a viewpoint very close to the crevasse was systematically closed due to the heavy snow cover. Photographers such as iurie Belegurschi were able to get magnificent close-ups of the previously frozen crevasse.

The droplets created by the waterfall produce a veil on the photos.


useful clarification: the small path can be very slippery in winter,
cramped soles are very useful.
The site is very busy.

location coordinates GPS: 64.325634, -20.124962

64°19’38.5″N 20°07’12.3″W

details -  Gulfoss waterfall
details – Gulfoss waterfall
Close Up - Gulfoss waterfall - Iceland
Close Up – Gulfoss waterfall – Iceland

Fossarrett

Fossarrett is a small, not-so-famous waterfall and that’s a shame. She is very photogenic on a mini long exposure photography.

Fossarrett  waterfall - Iceland
Fossarrett waterfall – Iceland
waterfall Fossarrett - iceland
waterfall Fossarrett – iceland

It is located in the east of Iceland along the Hvalfjordur fjord on route 47.

location coordinates GPS: 64.359617, -21.452972

64 ° 21’50.9 « N 21 ° 27’13.0 » W

Seldjalandfoss

In the south Iceland, Seldjalandfoss is another iconic waterfall of Iceland . It’s visit can be easily combine with skogafoss. You can get there from the road 1 between Hella and Vik. It’s one of the most beautiful waterfall in iceland. The seldjaland river fall from a height of 60 meter.

seldjalandfoss waterfall - iceland
seldjalandfoss waterfall – iceland

That’s possible to walk behind the waterfall but you need to take photos extremely fast due to the huge amount of drops in the air. Be aware that in winter this way can be very slippy.

seldjalandfoss - iceland
seldjalandfoss – iceland
close-up - Seldjalandfoss waterfall iceland
close-up – Seldjalandfoss waterfall iceland

location coordinates GPS : 63.61625, -19.98535

63°36’56.5″N 19°59’19.1″W

Bruarfoss

Bruarfoss is a somptuous blue color waterfall along the bruara river.

Bruarfoss waterfall - iceland
Bruarfoss waterfall – iceland

You can get there by the road 37 and combine the visit of Bruarfoss with the visit of Gulfoss after the city of Laugarvatn. You need to stop your car at the parking and walk around 3 kilometers to reach the cascading blue water.

Bruarfoss waterfall - iceland
Bruarfoss waterfall – iceland

During my visit, the way was very muddy and not so easy to walk, so don’t be afraid to be dirty but the visit was worthy.

location coordinates GPS : 64.26452, -20.51578

64°15’52.7″N 20°30’56.8″W

The Bruarfoss waterfall - Iceland
The Bruarfoss waterfall – Iceland
bruarfoss waterfall - iceland
bruarfoss waterfall – iceland

Svartifoss

svartifoss - Iceland waterfall
svartifoss – Iceland waterfall

A majestic waterfall surround by somptuous organ basalt column.

Between Vik and Hofn, take the road 998 from the road 1 and drop your car at the skaftafell campground.

The trail to access Svartifoss is around 3 kilometer one way, it’s climb a little but the walk is easy.

You can combine your day trip with the visit of the Svínafellsjökull Glacier not far, some kilometers to the east.

Svartifoss - Iceland waterfall
Svartifoss – Iceland waterfall

location coordinates GPS : 64.02762, -16.97535

64°01’39.3″N 16°58’30.9″W

Oxararfoss

oxararfoss waterfall - iceland
oxararfoss waterfall – iceland
oxararfoss waterfall - iceland
oxararfoss waterfall – iceland

You can visit oxararfoss on the oxara river during your visit of the thingvellir national park and his atlantic ocean ridge crossing the park. A very impressive site. The shorter way to the cascade is by the parking P3.

Road 36 from Reykjavik or 35 and 36 from Selfoss.

location coordinates GPS : 64.26626, -21.11707

64°15’57.8″N 21°07’02.1″W

Hraunfossar

hraunfossar - iceland
hraunfossar – iceland
The hraunfossar waterfall is accessible from the city of Borganes, West iceland, by the road 50 and the road 518. More precisely , Hraunfossar is a serie of small waterfall along a distance of 900 meters, falling from the cliff to the Hvita river. Hraunfossar is not the easiest subject to gets on photography, considering the wide distance and the shape of the valley.

location coordinates GPS : 64.70284, -20.977214

64°42’10.4″N 20°58’38.1″W

Barnafoss

Barnafoss waterfall / cascade
Barnafoss waterfall / cascade

Barnafoss is just a little bit more far away from Hraunfossar, the stream is powerful and of a nice blue color.

location coordinates GPS : 64.70245, -20.97727

64°42’06.9″N 20°58’20.6″W

barnafoss waterfall - iceland
barnafoss waterfall – iceland

Stevefoss

Waterfall of snaefellsnes - Iceland - landscape - waterscape
Waterfall of snaefellsnes – Iceland – landscape – waterscape

Stevefoss is a small waterfall in snaefellnes, near the city of Olafsvik. However i decide to include her in this Iceland waterfall guide. After all, it’s a good photography subject. You reach the site by the road 574. You need to turn on a small way on your left (coming from Grundarfjordur). A farm is not far from the waterfall.

location coordinates GPS : 64.88603, -23.64312

64°53’09.9″N 23°38’35.2″W

Dettifoss

dettifoss waterfall iceland - cascade d'islande
dettifoss waterfall iceland – cascade d’islande

Another top in this Iceland waterfall guide, Dettifoss is the cascade which appear at the beginning of the film Prometheus from Ridley scott in the Alien serie . The view is taken from the east bank in the movie. Dettifoss is on the road after Reykjahlid at Myvatn lake in direction to Egilsstadir.

Dettifoss is considered the most powerful or the second most powerful waterfall in Europe. Catastrophic floodings of the Jokulsa a fjollum river have eroded the valley and created the canyon. The width of Dettifoss is around 100 meters (330 feet) and her height of 44 meters (144 feet).

Until now i gone to dettifoss in winter, using the road 862 , the road 864 to the east bank being closed in winter. The road 864 is open in summer normally. You have access to some parkings on the site.

Tips : In winter, you can have 30 centimeters of snow or more on the site, walking to the cascade is not always easy, take good hiking shoe or snowshoes, yes i’m serious. Personnally i use the Timberland 6 inch boot and some crampons. Despite the equipment, prepare to some funny or not funny fall in the snow !!!

Make me pleasure, don’t walk there with summer basket in the heart of winter.

Ah and take care about the black ice ont the road 862 !!!

The region is rich of site, you can combine the visit of Dettifoss with the visit of Myvatn lake, Grjótagjá, the krafla crater, the Hverir geothermal area with his boiling mud pits and swimming in the Myvatn nature bath hot spring , my little hedonist pleasure in this region.

location coordinates GPS : 65.81478, -16.38470

65°48’52.8″N 16°23’04.9″W

Selfoss

selfoss waterfall - iceland
selfoss waterfall – iceland

Selfoss is a few hundred meters upstream of Dettifoss. She lays in a magnificent portion of the canyon , cut by the Jokulsa A Fjollum river.

A huge amount of mist surround the cascade but it’s possible to catch a rainbow on photography sometimes over the canyon.

location coordinates GPS : 65.80512, -16.38679

65°48’18.6″N 16°23’12.6″W

Urridafoss

urridafoss waterfall - iceland
urridafoss waterfall – iceland


Urridafoss waterfall is located between Selfoss city and Hella. It is often overlooked by tourist speeding up to Vik but Urridafoss deserve better. The landscape is nice and the flow of the river is very strong there.

From the road 1, you need to turn on the urridafossvegur. There is a parking on the site.

urridafoss waterfall - iceland
urridafoss waterfall – iceland

location coordinates GPS : 63.92465, -20.67217

63°55’28.8″N 20°40’20.0″W

Langarfoss

langarfoss waterfall - iceland - cascade islande
langarfoss waterfall – iceland – cascade islande

Not too much far from the city of Borganes, the langarfoss waterfall worth the visit with the river Langa surrounded by a chaos of Iceberg in winter.

The waterfall itself is small but the landscape is very beautiful.

Langarfoss is located on the road 54 ans the access is very easy.

langarfoss waterfall - iceland - cascade islande
langarfoss waterfall – iceland – cascade islande

location coordinates GPS : 64.58618, -22.01347

64°35’09.7″N 22°00’48.5″W

Dynjandi

dynjandi waterfall - iceland  - cascade
dynjandi waterfall – iceland – cascade

Dynjandi is a majestuous waterfall in the Westfjords. My first try to visit her was a failure in winter, the road 60 being closed. We also change our hotel at the last minute. Iceland come with surprise !!!

Finally i can get there in summer and the site worth the trip.

The landscape along the road 60 are very beautiful and of a pure desolation. A small path allow you to climb until the base of the waterfall. Dynjandi is very large and has a height of around 100 meters. Below Dynjandi you will find many waterfall which we describe under in this article. Flying drone on the site is forbidden.

After this visit we drive until Tingeyry, a fisherman village for the night rest.

location coordinates GPS : 64.88603, -23.64312

64°53’09.9″N 23°38’35.2″W

Baejarfoss

Baejarfoss waterfall - Iceland - cascade Islande
Baejarfoss waterfall – Iceland – cascade Islande

In the series of waterfalls topped by the Dynjandi waterfall, below Baejarfoss is one of the closest to the car park.

Hundafoss

Hundafoss waterfall - Iceland - cascade - Islande
Hundafoss waterfall – Iceland – cascade – Islande

Moving uphill from Baejarfoss, Hundafoss is a pretty little waterfall near Dynjandi, consisting of several falls, surrounding rocks covered in green moss. The bottom of the river has a nice blue.

Hrisvadsfoss

Hrisvadsfoss waterfall - Iceland - cascade - Islande
Hrisvadsfoss waterfall – Iceland – cascade – Islande

Also in the series of Dynjandi waterfalls, Hrisvadsfoss is very photogenic with its triangle shape, also surrounded by mossy rocks.

Gongumannafoss

gongumannafoss waterfall - iceland - cascade - islande
Gongumannafoss waterfall – iceland – cascade – islande

Approaching Dynjandi, Gongumannafoss is a small waterfall falling from a rocky bench.

Strompgljufrafoss

strompgljufrafoss waterfall -iceland - cascade - islande
Strompgljufrafoss waterfall -iceland – cascade – islande

Below Dynjandi, Stompgljufrafoss is a slightly more impressive waterfall, it falls several meters high into a rocky encasement. A very beautiful scene with the rocks covered with moss.

Let me know your favorite one by dropping a comment !

I hope this Iceland waterfall guide will be helpful to you for planning your trip.

Complements Of the Waterfall Iceland Guide

You may be interested in :

Reference To the iceland Waterfall Guide

Waterfall database

List of waterfall in Iceland – Wikipedia

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