Hraunfossar

Hraunfossar (meaning “lava falls”) was an intriguing series of springs coming out of the Hallmundarhraun lava flow appearing like a long 900m strand of cascades laced within the rough grooves of the lava.

The strand was so long that we had a very difficult time trying to photograph the falls in its entirety given the waterfall’s enormous length.

Hraunfossar_033_06232007 - Hraunfossar — Hraunfossar

It was practically an impossible act without stitching together photos.

Also, augmenting the scene was the powder blue stream that the falls had fed, which seemed ubiquitous throughout Iceland thanks to its many glaciers.

In any case, the color of the water really added plenty of color to the overall landscape, especially since it contrasted with the black lava.

All the photos you see on this page were taken from a well-defined walking path connecting a large viewing platform area.

Hraunfossar_053_06232007 - Looking further down the length of Hraunfossar alongside the powder blue river — Looking further down the length of Hraunfossar alongside the powder blue river

On the morning that we visited the falls in late June 2007, we had the waterfall to ourselves (being the early birds that we were) for most of the time we spent here.

On the same visit to this waterfall, we also visited the Barnafoss waterfall, which was a few paces further along the walkway along the Hvita River in the upstream direction.

That waterfall was interesting to check out, which you can read more about on its own write-up.

Authorities

Hraunfossar resides in the West Region of Iceland. It is administered by the municipality of Borgarbyggð. For information or inquiries about the general area as well as current conditions, you may want to try visiting their website.

Route to this Waterfall

From Reykjavik, we drove north on the Ring Road for about 63km passing beneath the Hvalfjörður but turning right onto the Route 50 (not crossing the Borgarfjörður towards Borgarnes).

Then, we followed the Route 50 for another 30km or so before we turned right again to leave the route 50 and get onto the Route 518.

We followed the Route 518 for the last 23km passing through Reykholt and eventually arriving at the car park for Hraunfossar and Barnafoss.

It took us about 90 minutes to make this drive from Reykjavik.