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Haifoss

Háifoss - Iceland's 2nd tallest waterfall - and Granni




Haifoss (more accurately Háifoss; I think it's pronounced "HAU-i-foss") is said to be the second tallest waterfall in Iceland at 122m tall. What made this waterfall stand out was that it was also accompanied by a similar waterfall called Granni (the Neighbor) in an adjacent gorge. It seemed like we got lucky with the timing on our visit because not only did we see both waterfalls at their full flow, but the sun's position was almost perfect as it yielded bright quarter-arcing rainbows within the mist of the main falls. Add to that the hauntingly beautiful yet desolate landscape of the Icelandic Highlands and we still think about this place whenever we reminisce about our 2007 trip to the country.

In order to reach this waterfall, we had to take a detour on a rough road (it seemed like it required a high clearance vehicle though we saw a 2wd vehicle make it) to its car park (see directions below). From the car park, it was a short walk (maybe 20-25 minutes round trip) on a gently downhill path to get to the best views of both Haifoss and Granni.

Looking back at the unsealed access road to the fallsDirections: The approach we took involved leaving the Ring Road at Route 26 (about 20km west of Hvolsvöllur). From the junction, we drove about 62km through Ţjórsadalur to its junction with Route 32. Turning left onto Route 32, we drove about 8km to an unsealed access route (I think it's signposted) on the right.

Keeping right at the first fork and left at the second fork, we persisted about 7km on this fairly rough and bumpy road as it climbed into the highlands (there seemed to be a stretch where the road was following power lines). Eventually, we reached a signposted turnoff to the left going the last 800m to the car park for the falls.

Alternately, we could've got off the Ring Road at the junction with Route 30, then drive 16km northeast to its junction with Route 32, and follow Route 32 for about 43km to the unsealed turnoff for the falls on the left.

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Herd of Icelandic horses we saw while driving Route 26 through ŢjórsadalurHerd of Icelandic horses we saw while driving Route 26 through Ţjórsadalur

We took a brief break to look over the top of TrollkonufossWe took a brief break to look over the top of Trollkonufoss (Troll Woman Falls?)

After the first couple of forks, the road climbed past that farm down to the rightAfter the first couple of forks, the road climbed past that farm down to the right. Notice how flat and desolate Ţjórsadalur is.

Julie on the short walk to the fallsJulie on the short walk to the falls

Haifoss on the left and Granni on the rightHaifoss on the left and Granni on the right

The psychedelic landscape downstream from the fallsThe psychedelic landscape downstream from the falls

Just Háifoss and rainbowJust the main falls and rainbow

Focused on Granni from a closer positionFocused on Granni from a closer position

Driving back to ŢjórsadalurDriving back to Ţjórsadalur

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Sweep of the falls along with its neighboring waterfall and the psychedelic landscape downstream


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TRIP REPORTS
For more information about our experiences with this waterfall, check out the following travel stories.

GUIDEBOOKS / OTHER RESOURCES


NEARBY WATERFALLS




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Haifoss  Not rated yet
WOW!!!! The drive there was bumpy and very long, but WOW!!! This is all you can say when you walk down the small trail to the falls and hear the sheer ...



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