Yes, Minnesota may be the land of 10,000 lakes but I think Iceland should get it’s own distinction: “Land of 10,000 Waterfalls”. I kid you not, there are waterfalls EVERYWHERE here. So much so, in fact, that they start to feel passé. “Another beautiful gushing falls — no biggie — it’s just like the last 6 we saw.” In fact, I think my daughter even said that. She’s very over waterfalls. Not me though. I love them so much. Their power and beauty make me feel so small (in a good way). In today’s post I’m going to showcase 7 of our favorite waterfalls we’ve seen thus far and talk about what makes each one unique. I’ll also mention which ones were personal favorites for Nia, Nick and I!
Seljalandsfoss: The One You Can Walk Behind
This beauty was 200 feet tall and my hand-down fave. What made it stand out in my mind was the fact that you could walk behind it. It was so unique getting to see it from a 360 degree view.
Given that this stunner was the first we visited, I became concerned that the rest were going to pale in comparison. I need not have worried, there was plenty more awesomeness to come!
Skógafoss: The One You Can View From Above
This waterfall was a massive sheet of water. 200 feet tall, like the previous one, but 80 feet wide. Look at the scale between the waterfall and the person in the picture below. I didn’t even dare try and get that close, as the noise and spray from the water were so strong.
The unique thing about this waterfall was that you could climb a mere 500 steps and see it from the top, which provided a totally different viewpoint and make it look much more docile.
We also discovered a trail at the top that led us to this surprise…
Cascading Falls: The Bonus Waterfall atop Skogafoss
This one was quite unexpected and lovely as well. It was upriver just a bit from Skógafoss and was one of a series of waterfalls on the Skógá River (Nia was getting crabby, so we didn’t continue down the trail more to see the rest).
Svartifoss: The One with the Funky Basalt Columns
What made this waterfall unique was the basalt rock column formations that formed its backdrop. While not as tall as the others (only 80 feet high), the rock formations really make it “pop”. Nia picked this as her favorite of all the ones we’d seen.
Folaldafoss: The One We Stumbled Upon on the Side of the Road
During a long car trek Nick saw this waterfall in the distance and noticed that there was a small parking lot with a few cars at it. Wasn’t one we had heard of or planned at stopping at, but he made the impromptu decision to pull over. I’m so glad he did, as it was very deserted and a beautiful little spot to stretch our legs.
Dettifoss: The One with the Rainbow
Dettifoss was a ways off the main road but we had prioritized going here because it is said to be the most powerful falls in Europe, with over 200 cubic meters of water flowing over each second. It’s not the tallest (at 144 ft) but its width is significant (330 ft). What we enjoyed most about this waterfall were the rainbows that showed up in the mist. It was the only one we saw a rainbow at!
Selfoss: The Niagara Falls of Iceland
Selfoss was 1 km south of the mighty Dettifoss. We had heard good things and decided to make the rocky hike (lots of scrambling over boulders to reach it). Definitely worth it though, as it reminded us of Niagara Falls. It had a horseshoe-shaped curve at the top and then a long line of smaller waterfalls extending down a ridge. The combination of all those waterfalls with the dramatic cliffs made it quite a sight. This ended up being Nick’s favorite waterfall.
