As a reminder, our plan was to drive to the Vestrahorn mountain on the primary day, keep on the market (which we did), after which we booked two nights at Lodge Skogar, subsequent to Skogafoss, then fly dwelling the morning of the fourth day. Let’s decide issues up in Skogar.
The Lodge Skogar was good and quaint, with an honest breakfast, however the most effective factor in regards to the lodge was leaving the window open at night time and listening to the boring roar of Skogafoss off within the distance.
I made my means over to Skogafoss to see if there have been any northern lights and sadly there weren’t so I strategically went to sleep.
A fast observe about Iceland’s most well-known waterfalls
Iceland is well-known for its myriad waterfalls. Godafoss, Gullfoss, and Kirkjufellsfoss are all well-liked however the Massive Two are Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss alongside the southern coast. They’re large, simply accessible from the Ring Street, and (at instances) very crowded.
The nice half about each Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss is the accessibility: you may stroll proper as much as Skogafoss and might really stroll behind Seljalandsfoss simply.
Skogafoss
We began our fossing with Skogafoss. It was near the lodge and a simple stroll. I didn’t deliver my good digicam, since there’s fairly a little bit of water spray from the waterfall, and determined to as a substitute simply use my new iPhone 11 Professional. Many of the crowd was staying a good means again from the falls, however we simply walked proper as much as it, little question ruining all their photos (oops). To actually recognize the uncooked energy of Skogafoss, stroll up as shut as you may to it, you’ll be moist however it’s value it.
However there was one other foss through which I used to be greater than Skogafoss. I noticed it on the Instagram web page of a vacation spot wedding ceremony photographer I met on Sony’s Kando Journey named Megan (@studio22photography). I did a little bit of analysis and discovered that it’s actually proper subsequent to Skogafoss however no person ever goes there. It’s known as Kvernufoss.
Kvernufoss
The river Kverna runs down from the Icelandic highlands and drops 100 toes (30 meters) to the bottom simply east of the city of Skogar. It’s the most effective and most accessible waterfall in Iceland to which no person goes. There have been a whole bunch of individuals at Skogafoss as we set off for the temporary stroll to Kvernufoss…and we discovered ourselves virtually fully alone.
To get to Kvernufoss, go to the Skogar museum and stroll behind it. You’ll come to a barbed-wire fence. Flip left/north and, near the hillside, you’ll see a metallic stepladder over the barbed wire (please don’t mess with the barbed wire). Comply with the trail alongside the hillside and also you’ll flip left right into a crevice carved out by the river Kverna.
It’s a simple observe and, earlier than you understand it, you’ll see Kvernufoss off within the distance.
Kvernufoss is mainly a biggest hits of the good waterfalls of Iceland. It has the basalt columns of Aldeyjarfoss and Svartifoss, the accessibility and walking-behind-it-ness of Seljalandsfoss, and there’s virtually no person there.
We grabbed a seat off to the aspect of the waterfall whereas the individuals within the image above took some photos after which made our means behind the falls. It felt prefer it was simply us!
Proud of our photos and the peacefulness of the second, we began strolling again when, in a hilariously dangerous effort to mannequin the brand new Bluffworks Area Jacket, I went down near the place the water was hitting the earth beneath. Whereas it did a superb job giving some scale to the scene, you couldn’t actually see the jacket.
So Emily was variety sufficient to take one other image, ensuring a) the jacket was seen and b) that I regarded suitably epic.
Kvernufoss was by far our favourite waterfall of the journey. I virtually hesitated to put in writing about it, simply because I don’t need it to be too crowded, however let’s be sincere my readership isn’t that huge lol I really like yall an excessive amount of to withhold locations like this from you.
On to the opposite Mega Waterfall!
Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss is suuuuuuper well-liked and crowded consequently. The parking zone requires a cost of about $8 USD and also you’ll see plenty of tour busses jockeying for house. Whereas a bit inconvenient, it’s nonetheless value seeing because it’s one in all Iceland’s iconic views. We made our means behind the waterfall and I put Emily within the excellent spot for the famed “Silhouettalandsfoss” shot.
When you’re going to Seljalandsfoss, I extremely advocate being behind the waterfall for sundown. You’ll be going through west, which results in an ideal sundown shot (right here’s mine from 2018).
The hidden waterfall subsequent to Seljalandsfoss
Much like Kvernufoss and Skogafoss, there’s a less-crowded waterfall subsequent to Seljalandsfoss that’s pretty straightforward to entry and visited rather less usually than it’s well-liked neighbor. It’s known as Gljúfrabúi. Sure, it’s subsequent to Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon and the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on the Tough To Pronounce Icelandic Names record however the one factor that you must know is the placement.
When you’re behind Seljalandsfoss and need to make it over to Gljúfrabúi, merely stroll to the appropriate out from behind the falls (northward when you’re a cardinal path fanatic) and comply with the trail. You’ll go away the final Seljandsfoss space and stroll perhaps 1/4 mile (400m) alongside the hillside till you arrive at a big crack within the aspect of the hill.
You’ll discover within the image above there’s sort of a bottleneck on the hillside crack. That’s as a result of there’s a small river that you just both have to wade by way of or stroll throughout some larger rocks to get to Gljúfrabúi. It takes a little bit of coordination and endurance with the opposite individuals there however it’s straightforward to stroll from rock to rock and hold your toes dry when you don’t have waterproof footwear/boots/galoshes.
The prize to your endurance is a completely EPIC waterfall.
(observe: the ultra-wide-angle lens on the brand new iPhone 11 Professional is great and was completely crucial right here)
The touchdown space for Gljúfrabúi has an unlimited boulder that everybody stands upon for group photos. You’ll want some endurance right here, and don’t be afraid to corral individuals. There’ll possible be photographers making an attempt to get their shot similtaneously households that need their image taken on the rock, so don’t be afraid to take cost if there’s a calamity afoot. We waited our flip to climb up on the boulder, tossed my telephone to somebody ready in line, watched as they nervously realized I don’t put a case on my telephone, after which posed for our favourite image of the journey.
And again to Reykjavik
We determined to skip out on our second night time at Lodge Skogar. Our flight was leaving the following morning at 11am and we determined it might be higher to spend the night time in Reykjavik, particularly as a result of the forecast regarded wet for the remainder of the day. The forecast proved correct as we drove by way of numerous phases of rain, from Sprinkling all the way in which to God Is Apparently Upset, and finally wound up on the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica. We took a taxi over to the #1 rated restaurant in Reykjavik, which turned out to be a hole-in-the-wall eatery known as 101 Reykjavik Road Meals. The fish and chips had been higher than something I’ve had in England and the lobster soup was equally unimaginable.
The very best half about 101 Reykjavik Road Meals was the affordable value level. Issues weren’t comically costly, as you sometimes see in Iceland, and the proprietor of the store walked round and talked up the company, giving us (and everybody round us) chocolate bars for after we had been by way of. He was completely hilarious as nicely. Put merely, I couldn’t advocate 101 Reykjavik Road Meals extra strongly.
And, identical to that, our Iceland journey was over
The following morning we grabbed a fast breakfast on the hilariously crowded buffet on the Hilton, as a consequence of a convention on the town, and made our strategy to Keflavik for our flight dwelling. Whereas this flight dwelling didn’t contain Flagship First Eating like our outbound, we had been too drained to care. We boarded the American 757, fell asleep simply after takeoff, and loved a fast flight again to the States.
I’m unsure after I’ll be again to Iceland however I hope it’s quickly. I’ve seen quite a lot of this wonderful nation however know I’ve solely scratched the floor. I’ve two objectives for my subsequent journey: discover the Westfjords extra and eventually see some puffins!
Hope you’ve loved this journey report, please let me know what you need to know extra about within the feedback, glad to reply any questions through electronic mail as nicely!