The Glanni Waterfall on the Norðurá River is said to be the dwelling place of elves and trolls. However, during our visit, we noticed that this waterfall was situated near a golf course nearby an old lava flow (called the Grábrókarhraun lava field) and the hamlet of Bifröst. The falls was one of those wide river-type waterfalls that we saw quite a few of in the country, but this one segmented into at least three side-by-side drops as well as each one having multiple tiers.

From the car park for the falls (see directions below), we took a short walk that was marked and well-defined passing through some low-lying shrubs. Eventually, we ended up atop a bluff at the edge of the river where we got a decent view of the falls (see photo at the top of this page).

According to my Icelandic dictionary, the word “glans” was a noun meaning “gloss” or “brilliance”. Thus, I suspect that this waterfall might mean something like “The Shining.” (and I’m not talking about a particular Jack Nicholson movie).

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Route to this Waterfall

We found this waterfall about 28km north of Borgarnes along the Ring Road. The turnoff was on the right just past the Grábrókarhraun lava field. We parked at a lot about 500m from the Ring Road, but this side road looked like it kept going towards a golf course.

We actually came to this falls from Hraunfossar (near Reykholt) by taking the route 518 west for about 22km, then following the route 50 west for another 18km. By then, we rejoined the Ring Road (route 1) and turned right. After about 10km north, we saw the turnoff on our right just past the lava field.

For reference, the falls was about 106km (under 90 minutes drive) north of Reykjavik.

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Tagged with: bifrost, west region, iceland, waterfall, nordura, lava flow, grabrokarhraun, golf

Visitor Comments:

Glanni Name Correction July 3, 2014 12:11 am by Kola - The name Glanni has nothing to with the word glans. Glanni means the one who thrusts forward regardless of what might happen. Driving dangerously is being glanni. I guess the name for the fall means the fall flushing fiercely forward. ...Read More

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