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Gullfoss (Golden Falls) Iceland

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Of the many wonderful waterfalls of Iceland, these were the most impressive I saw.

They seem to suddenly disappear into the earth.

Gullfoss (English: Golden Falls) is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.

Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. The wide Hvítá rushes southward. About a kilometer above the falls it turns sharply to the left and flows down into a wide curved three-step “staircase” and then abruptly plunges in two stages …

This is early season, yet the observation deck already seems near the breaking point.

I hiked down the river a ways to take in the vista from more of a distance.

See the rest of my Gullfoss photos.

More interesting photos tagged Gullfoss on flickr.

… there is another must see attraction near Gullfoss, the original Geysir. You can skip it. Go to Yellowstone, instead.

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Iceland waterfall Skógafoss

Skógafoss (pronounced [ˈskou.aˌfɔs]) is a waterfall situated in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline. After the coastline had receded seaward … the former sea cliffs remained, parallel to the coast over hundreds of kilometres, creating together with some mountains a clear border between the coastal lowlands and the Highlands of Iceland.

It’s difficult to take a bad photo of these falls on a nice day.

See the birds nesting on the cliff walls.

… Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days. …

See the rest of my Skógafoss photos.

… At the eastern side of the waterfall, a hiking and trekking trail leads up to the pass Fimmvörðuháls between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. It goes down to Þórsmörk on the other side and continues as the famous Laugavegur to Landmannalaugar.

Sob. That’s the trek I came to Iceland to complete. But a harsh Spring resulted in it opening too late for me. … I’ll have to return to Iceland another time.

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Látrabjarg bird cliffs, Iceland

The major bird cliffs of Iceland ranked #1 on a Lonely Planet list of the greatest wildlife spectacles worldwide.

1. Látrabjarg bird cliffs, Iceland

The famed white cliff s of Dover get their hue from the chalk stratum. At Látrabjarg, the very far western extremity of Iceland (and Europe), the rock faces – some over 400m high, and about 12km along – aren’t naturally white. When you hear that these cliff s host the summer roosts of millions of seabirds, you’ll guess what those stains are: an unbelievable quantity of guano. The swirling, squawking cacophony of puffins, razorbills, guillemots, fulmars, cormorants and kittiwakes is extraordinary; even if you’re not into birdwatching, the comic antics of the puffins and the sheer scale of the mob are mesmerizing.

Access is easiest with a car, though a bus runs three times weekly from June to August from Isafjordur, the Westfjords region’s main town. …

see more of The greatest wildlife spectacles

Click PLAY or see a feature YouTube.

There’s a wonderful hike along the cliff top.

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Þingvellir National Park, Iceland

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Historical hiking.

… Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It is the site of a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Due to acoustics, historians feel this rift is the most likely spot for people to assemble.

… Parliament or Alþingi was established at Þingvellir in 930 and remained there until 1789. …

It’s speculated that Clan Chieftains from across the island met here regularly for a 2wk Assembly.

I quite enjoyed wandering the area, imagining times past, ancient and modern.

See more photos.

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Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, Iceland

Jökulsárlón (lit. “Glacier Lagoon”) is the largest glacier lagoon or lake in Iceland.

… it evolved into a lagoon after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The lake has grown since then at varying rates because of melting of the Icelandic glaciers. The lagoon now stands 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) away from the ocean’s edge and covers an area of about 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi). …

The size of the lagoon has increased fourfold since the 1970s. It is considered as one of the natural wonders of Iceland.

tourism promo photo

Some are ash covered, from recent eruption.

… The Jökulsárlón lagoon provides outstanding views of the Ice Cap, which is a vast dome of ice that rises to a height of 3,000 feet (910 m). It spills to the lagoon 12 miles (19 km) away from the jagged glacier hill to the edge of the water line. …

Iceland is a photographer’s dream. And this lagoon may just be the single most photogenic site on the island.

I do love icebergs.

click for larger image

Don’t miss the ocean shoreline, the other side of the bridge, far less visited than the lagoon.

See more photos of this incredible place.

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hiking Kjos, Skaftafell, Iceland

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Kjós (‘Dell’)

Distance: 24 km

Walking time: 8 hrs.

Skaftafell, is part of Vatnajökull, the largest National Park in Europe.

Skaftafell Visitor Centre is the most popular access. Indeed, this is the most popular campground in Iceland.

… OK, it’s EARLY in the season (June 13-14). The hordes have not yet arrived. It was closed 4 days not so long ago due to eruption of the Grímsvötn volcano, a fairly frequent occurrence, actually.

There are plenty of hiking & glacier walk options from this trailhead. Most are headed to Svartifoss.

hikers consulting the Trails map

The only backcountry tenting allowed out of Skaftafell Visitor Centre is Kjos (see map below), at the start of an unusual glacial flood plain valley called Morsárdalur.

One of the bridges had been washed out, so I needed to go in-and-out to Kjos via the same ‘route’ (It’s not signed all the way.)

Here I’m taking the easiest Morsá river crossing.

Water crossings are the biggest challenge when hiking this island. I can see why Alastair Humphreys took a packraft on his crossing of Iceland, unsupported.

Aside from the route finding, Kjos is a pretty easy walk without much elevation gain.

There’s the campsite, just coming into view.

I set up here instead, under a rock overhang.

Instead of scrambling adjacent peaks, I relaxed in the tent. The weather was a continuous drizzle. Visibility was poor, anyway.

I was quite content listening to my audio book, The Girl Who Played with Fire.

This hike reminded me of similar walks towards glaciers in the Yukon. But a big difference here are the big, black desolate areas of volcanic ash. Stark and photogenic.

I’d love to do a long walk over the ash black wasteland one day. It would be like crossing salt flats.

See more photos from this hike on flickr.

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hiking Svartifoss, Iceland

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.)

See more photos from this day hike.

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Iceland Arctic Fox VIDEO

On the Hellnar to Arnarstapi coastal walk in Iceland I nearly tripped over a fox. We were both trying to get close to nesting sea birds on coastal cliffs.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Notice the fur is turning dark and falling out, the better for summer hunting.

… Iceland Arctic Fox, Vulpes lagopus fuliginosus …

There are only an estimated 2000 animals on the island, yet I managed to see 3 of them in 4 days. hmm …

If you want to know more, check out the new Arctic Fox Center (Icelandic: Melrakkasetur) researching the beasts.

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Krafla caldera, Iceland

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

The best of my hikes near Lake Mývatn was up to the Krafla Power Station. Especially since I had no idea what was going on here, at the time …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Krafla is a caldera of about 10 km in diameter with a 90 km long fissure zone… Its highest peak reaches up to 818 m and it is 2 km in depth. There have been 29 reported eruptions in recorded history. …

You can hike close.

End of day, I headed for the new Mývatn Nature Baths, promoted as the Blue Lagoon North.