trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Svartifoss (Black Fall) is a waterfall in Skaftafell … Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park.
It is surrounded by dark lava columns, which give rise to its name. The hexagonal columns were formed inside a lava flow which cooled extremely slowly, giving rise to crystallization. Similar well-known lava formations are seen at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, and on the island of Staffa in Scotland. …
After seeing the unique falls, I continued on to the Skaftafellsjökull glacier overlook.
I left a Summit Stone at the base of this sign.
From there you can walk up and alongside the big ice.
It was a tad bit windy, as you may be able to tell from this photo. (I might have been able to BASE jump using just my jacket.)






Hi. We are in Iceland now and were planning to do this hike tomorrow. Your pics convinced us that we can’t miss it. How long did just the falls take roundtrip?
Less than an hour to and from the Falls. But continue on up to the glacier if the weather is good enough. … Add another hour for that.