Systrafoss (Kirkjubaejarklaustur, South, Iceland)

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Systrafoss

Systrafoss (Sister Falls) was the only waterfall casualty during our 2007 trip to Iceland. Despite the rain and mist so commonplace in the south of the country, this one still went dry. Even though a local told us the falls were fed by Systravatn (Sister Lake) it seemed pretty clear that it would only flow when the lake had overflown.

By the way, if you've noticed that there seems to be a deeply religious theme to the area (I mean there's even a Sister's Cafe and anything else you can think of with "Sister" in it as well as the name of the town having something to do with a "church cloister"), there's a good reason for it. I understand that back during the Laki eruption, which almost forced the abandonment of the country to Denmark, a lava flow almost inundated this town before it turned and avoided the church here and spared the rest of the town. So it's understandable why there's a belief that somehow there was some Divine intervention at play here (and if you've paid attention to the Eyjafjallajökull ["EYE-ya-fyat-luh-yuk-ul"] eruptions in 2010, you can appreciate just how overwhelming these events can be).

Directions: Drive the Ring Road to Kirkjubæjarklaustur (259km east of Reykjavik). From town, look for a small road that delves deeper into it (going by the visitor centre and the Sister's Cafe, etc.) until the road passes right before the waterfall near some museums.

Finally, if the name Kirkjubæjarklaustur is too long, you could also just shorten it to Klaustur ("KLOI-stur").

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