5 Iceland Waterfalls You Must Visit Near Reykjavik
5 Iceland Waterfalls You Must Visit Near Reykjavik
Waterfalls in Iceland are everywhere. Too many, honestly. You stop counting somewhere around day two when you realise every valley seems to have one tucked into it. But a few of them - not many, just a few - are different enough that people mention them unprompted months after coming home. These five are within reach of Reykjavik. No week in the Highlands required.
Gullfoss Waterfall
Two stages. First 11 metres, then 21, then the river just disappears into a canyon so deep it's genuinely hard to judge where it ends. That's Gullfoss waterfall, two hours east of Reykjavik on the Golden Circle route, and probably the most dramatic single thing you'll see on that drive. On windy days, a rainbow sits in the spray. On calm ones, you walk down to the lower path and your face gets wet in about thirty seconds flat. Winter changes it completely: ice on the canyon walls, almost nobody there, the whole landscape sort of muffled under snow. Summer is fine. Winter is better.
Seljalandsfoss
60-metre drop off a volcanic cliff. Fine on its own, but the actual reason people come is the path behind it - a narrow ledge, always wet, sometimes icy in colder months, and you walk through and come out the other side completely soaked. Five minutes. People attempt it in regular trainers and immediately learn why waterproof boots exist. Ten minutes further down the South Coast road, most visitors drive straight past Gljufrabui, a second waterfall hidden inside a canyon. Easy to miss. Very much worth stopping for.
Skogafoss
25 metres wide, 60-metre drop, mist cloud visible from the road before you arrive. Standard version: stand at the base, get wet, take the same photo that hundreds of other people took that day. Better version: climb the steps on the right side up to the top, where Eyjafjallajokull glacier sits in the background on clear days, and the river spreads flat across the valley above the falls. Both are worth doing. The top changes what you think you already understood from the bottom. Skogafoss is a regular stop on Reykjavik day tours heading east along the South Coast, usually paired with Seljalandsfoss and Reynisfjara black sand beach in one long day.
Oxara at Thingvellir
Smaller than the others. Quieter. Drops into a gorge called Drekkingarhylur, which has a genuinely dark history attached to it if you look it up. But Thingvellir isn't really about the waterfall alone - it's about what's around it. Iceland's parliament met here from 930 AD, outside, on a lava plain. The North American and Eurasian tectonic plates pull apart through this valley, and you can walk between them on a path through the canyon. The Oxara sits in the middle of all that. It's the first stop on the Golden Circle because standing there, even briefly, puts the rest of Iceland into some kind of context.
Hraunfossar
Two hours west of Reykjavik, and unlike anything else on this list. Spring water seeps out from beneath a lava field across 900 metres of riverbank and falls directly into the river below. Not one big drop. Hundreds of small streams just appear from the rock, cold and clear, and a strange bright blue colour that looks wrong until you accept it's real. Right next to it, Barnafoss does the opposite - the same river, narrow gorge, fast and loud and chaotic. Two of the best waterfalls in Iceland, completely different from each other, standing side by side. Not on the standard Golden Circle route. Usually quiet because of it. Honestly, one of the better reasons to do a West Iceland day trip instead of the same loop everyone else does.
Getting There
Gullfoss and Thingvellir: Golden Circle, a single day from Reykjavik. Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss: South Coast route - pair them with the glacier lagoon on longer days. Hraunfossar: West Iceland, fold it into a Snaefellsnes trip. Enjoy Iceland Tours runs private Reykjavik day tours on all three routes with local guides, private vehicles, and someone who actually checked the road conditions that morning rather than the night before.
FAQs
What are the best waterfalls near Reykjavik?
Some of the most popular waterfalls near Reykjavik include Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Gullfoss, Bruarfoss, and Gljufrabui.
Which waterfall near Reykjavik can you walk behind?
Seljalandsfoss is famous for the walking path behind the waterfall, giving visitors a unique perspective from behind the cascade itself.
What is the most powerful waterfall near Reykjavik?
Gullfoss is known for its strong flow and massive canyon drop, especially during summer glacier melt