A top 5 waterfalls in Iceland, Of course we need to make such a list !
On Iceland you will find hundreds of waterfalls and we want to make it easier for you.
On our trip we went on “waterfall hunting”. We wanted to see as many as possible because in Denmark you won´t find waterfalls. Not natural ones at least.
So we made our “top 5 waterfalls” over our favorites and five of them stood out like no other. This is just our opinion and we will totally recommend you to visit these amazing places.
If You read our fist article about Iceland, you´ll find the first and most popular one. Gullfoss. if you wanna read about that one and much more you can do while enjoying your time in Iceland, you can find it right here.
We recommend that you wear your best rain jacket, pants and waterprof shoes when you are on waterfall hunting.
The pressure from the waterfalls creates a lot of haze in the air.
Lets start with the first one on our top 5 waterfalls in Iceland !
1. Seljalandsfoss
No. 1 of our top waterfalls was different from the others. This one invites you to take a little walk around it to enjoy the 60 meters drop into a small pool from behind the waterfall.
The path is leading you into an open cave, so you can see it from all angles. It was so much fun and quite an experience.
Seljalandsfoss is located in the southern part of Iceland (120km from Reykjavik) and is easy to find. Its just a small detour from the famous ringroute.
You are gonna drive on a small gravel road but it is in good condition, so no matter what vehicle you are driving, it
should´t be a problem to get there.
When you get there, you have to pay a small parking fee because of its popularity.
2. Gljufrabui
Not long from Seljalandsfoss, maybe a 10 min walk (150 meters ish). You´ll find No. 2 of the list. Gljufrabui.
Gljufrabui is located inside a little cave, so you have to walk through a small river to get in there. I dont know if many people know this one, but when we visited Seljalandsfoss there were so many people. But as we continued towards Gljufrabui, not many people where headed the same.
There was only another couple in the cave when we got there. It was so exciting to get into the cave to meet this beautiful and majestic waterfall. A little smaller than Seljalandsfoss with its 40 meters drop, but you could still really feel the pressure from the water. The cave was amazing and if you looked up, omg, it was stunning. There was no roof in this cave, but a hole so you could look up at the sky.
3. Skogafoss
We continued our trip and got to Skogafoss. Another waterfall that is easy to reach when you are driving the ring road. This one is also just a small detour down a gravel road. You can actually see this one from the ring road, so you won´t miss it.
There you dont have to pay a parking fee, unless you are staying for the night. But if you wanna use the public toilets you have to pay a small fee.
Skogafoss drops 60 meters even though it looks bigger than the others. When you stand besides this huge waterfall, you feel sooo small.
Next to the waterfall they made a 370 steps staircase so you can get to the top and see Skogafoss from another angle and see the costline. The steps killed me, but i´m also i a very bad shape. Its hard, but its totally worth it.
4. Nykurhylsfoss
If you continue to the East fjords, you won´t miss this one. This was the waterfall we spent the most time at, not only because it was beautiful, but because it had the most amazing hiking route about one kilometer long (we would call it hiking for beginners). Its on private land, so please leave nature as you found it.
We traveled in september and even though it was cold, rainy and windy, we really enjoyed the colors of nature. Which made our hiking trip even more interesting (and called for a coffee break 😉 ).
It was a really nice hike through forrest and rock climbing. If you are not into the hiking thing, you can also make a quick stop just to enjoy the waterfall. Nykurhylsfoss only has a 15 meter drop, but still looks incredible.
Parking is free and 2 min walk from the parking spot, you´ll find a platform where you can enjoy the view of Nykurhylsfoss. Not many people go to this place even though its right beside the ring road. So here you can enjoy nature in peace from the many turists.
5. Godafoss
in the end of our top 5 waterfalls in Iceland, we have Godafoss! (Waterfall of the gods).
When you hit the northern part of the island, you must visit Godafoss.
Its about 35 km drive east from Akureyri. This one only drops 12 meters down into a large pool, but the awesome thing here is that over a curved edge, spanning approximately 30 meters in width. Another awesome thing is, that the waterfall actually split and become three or even more smaller waterfalls.
It is super easy to visit because its near the ring road and the road conditions are good since its asphalt all the way.
Parking is free, but have in mind that there is a lot of tourists.
In general is it a good idea to visit the famos waterfalls early, so you avoid the many tourists. If you wanna see both sides of Godafoss, you are gonna spend at least 45 minutes here. This is so stunning and if you are interested in the story behind it, you can read a lot more about it right here.
Cool, but what else?
Yeah, we also think its pretty cool ! But this is the end of our top 5 waterfalls in Iceland. But we are not done. We are also making a list over hot springs you can visit in Iceland, both natural ones and human made ones. You can find that, right here. Please stay tuned, we are also making a list over Places you must visit in Reykjavik!
