Gluggafoss (Merkjárfoss)

Hvolsvollur / Fljotsdalur, South Region (Suðurland), Iceland

About Gluggafoss (Merkjárfoss)

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Gluggafoss (“Window Falls”?) was another one of those unexpected waterfalls where we didn’t plan on seeing it prior to the trip, but then we chanced upon it while randomly driving about in the Fljotsdalur area between Hvolsvöllur and Seljalandsfoss.

What made this seemingly obscure waterfall (also called Merkjárfoss) memorable to us was its inverted trident shape.

Gluggafoss_005_jx_07062007 - Gluggafoss
Gluggafoss

Apparently we weren’t alone in finding something alluring about this waterfall because we were surprised to see a handful of other photographers who were also interested in photographing this falls.

Even though the falls was easily visible from the road 261, there was a short path that took us pretty close to the base of the falls (as shown in the photo above).

During our visit, we just so happened to start getting some morning sun, which was perfect as this south facing waterfall was starting to contrast well with the green-matted cliffs and the hint of blue skies behind it.

Speaking of cliffs, like with Seljalandsfoss, this waterfall apparently also plunged over an escarpment that was once part of the coastline of Iceland in the last Ice Age.

Gluggafoss_021_07062007 - More direct look at the upside-down pitchfork-shaped Gluggafoss
More direct look at the upside-down pitchfork-shaped Gluggafoss

In addition to Gluggafoss, we also saw a handful of other interesting (albeit obscure) waterfalls along the road through Fljotsdalur east of Hvolsvöllur.

We didn’t know it at the time, but apparently this was part of the so-called Saga Trail as apparently this area was rich in stories told by the early inhabitants of the country.

Authorities

Gluggafoss resides in the Southern Region near Selfoss, Iceland. It is administered by the municipality of Rangárþing eystra. For information or inquiries about the general area as well as current conditions, you may want to try visiting their website.

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Tagged with: hvolsvollur, fljotsdalur, saga trail, thorsmork, gljufurarfoss, south region, sudurland, southern iceland, iceland, waterfall, trident, seljalandsfoss, window



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Gluggafoss in Iceland: “windows” indeed January 17, 2015 5:48 pm by Ingrid - Partially inspired by this site, I have recently visited Iceland to see some of its amazing waterfalls in real life. I wanted to add my pictures of Gluggafoss, which might help to explain its name. "Gluggi" seems to translate as window. As you can see, when less water is flowing, the waterfall seems to fall… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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