Gljufurarfoss (Gljúfurárfoss; I think is pronounced “GLYOO-fir-owr-foss”) was a waterfall where I had to be content with obstructed views due to its rather hidden position behind a mini narrow slot canyon. I actually tried to brave the cold water and wade my way into the misty confines of the waterfall’s base, but the stream was so cold and the mist that my feet and ankles couldn’t handle the pain. Plus, the intensifying mist the closer I got didn’t help my cause either. I probably barely lasted a dozen steps before I had to chicken out.

I believe this waterfall is translated to mean “canyon river waterfall,” but I’ve also seen people refer to this as the “spooky” waterfall. Given that there was quite a bit of the falls that wouldn’t be revealed to us, I guess I could see why it sparked those kinds of associations.

Due to its proximity to Seljalandsfoss, it’s often overlooked (it looked like tour buses didn’t stop long enough to allow you to walk to this waterfall and back). So it’s fairly easy to have a peaceful experience at the falls if you’re content to just see glimpses of it from closer to the road. But at least there’s that option to get closer to the falls if the conditions were right and/or the numbing temperatures could be tolerated.

PHOTOS DIRECTIONS VIDEO MORE INFO

Drive towards Seljalandsfoss, but then continue another 800m north on route 249 to the smaller car park for Gljufurarfoss.

For context, the city of Reykjavík was 121km (90 minutes drive) northwest of Seljalandsfoss and 248km (3 hours drive) west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur.

Bottom up sweep of the falls hidden behind the slot

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Tagged with: seljalandsfoss, ring road, south region, sudurland, southern iceland, iceland, waterfall, cold, wading, wade, thorsmork

Visitor Comments:

Wrong name on waterfall! November 18, 2018 7:13 pm by Anna- Hello, please use the correct name of this waterfall. It's Gljúfrabúi. I live in the neighbourhood. You can also try googling the correct name and see all the pages that come up. The name Gljúfurárfoss implies that the river is named Gljúfurá which is incorrect, the river is named Hamragarðaá. Thank you. ...Read More

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