Kvernufoss

Skogar / Southern Ring Road, South Region (Suðurland), Iceland

About Kvernufoss


Hiking Distance: 2km round trip
Suggested Time: 1 hour

Date first visited: 2007-07-06
Date last visited: 2007-07-06

Waterfall Latitude: 63.5273
Waterfall Longitude: -19.48195

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Kvernufoss is the overlooked neighbor to the popular Skógafoss as far as I’m concerned.

We didn’t really notice this waterfall until we were looking for the turnoff for Skogafoss and found some attractive-looking waterfall that happened to be in the adjacent gorge to the east.

Kvernufoss_041_07062007 - Kvernufoss
Kvernufoss

That was when I was determined to find a way to get closer to the falls.

It turned out that my opportunity to see this waterfall came when we finally got settled into the Hotel Edda Skogar.

The hotel was actually a school dorm converted into hotel when school was not in session during the tourist season, which was actually a very creative and sensible idea.

Anyways, from the hotel, I walked east along the local road past some of the Skógar turf farms (Skógasafn; I think is pronounced “SKOH-ga-sap”).

Kvernufoss_008_07062007 - A particularly steep and precarious part of the short hike to Kvernufoss
A particularly steep and precarious part of the short hike to Kvernufoss

I then passed over a couple of stiles (protecting someone’s farm) before finally crossing into gorge containing the falls.

From that point, I followed what looked to be an unofficial trail of use that skirted the west side of the watercourse ultimately taking me closer to the falls.

There were a couple of narrow sections requiring scrambles over loose talus slopes to get across, but for the most part, it was pretty straightforward.

Once I was at the falls, I truly felt like this was one place where I could be alone with the falls and be lost in thought amidst the tranquility of the scene.

Kvernufoss_019_07062007 - Finally approaching the secluded alcove containing Kvernufoss
Finally approaching the secluded alcove containing Kvernufoss

It took be roughly an hour to do this entire excursion.

Authorities

Kvernufoss resides in the South Region near Vik, 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.

Skogasafn_005_07062007 - One of the turf farms at Skógasafn on the way to Kvernufoss
Skogasafn_004_07062007 - Looking along more of the front facades of the turf farms at Skógasafn
Kvernufoss_001_07062007 - Stile beyond the turf farms of Skógasafn
Kvernufoss_003_07062007 - On the use trail following the stream into the gorge containing Kvernufoss.  This doesn't look too bad
Kvernufoss_005_07062007 - There was a sign here that I wasn't sure what it meant, but it was near a scrambling obstacle where I had to backtrack and then go above
Kvernufoss_006_07062007 - The narrow path going above the scrambling obstacle
Kvernufoss_008_07062007 - Some sections of the trail were a bit narrow and over loose talus
Kvernufoss_009_07062007 - Almost at Kvernufoss
Kvernufoss_017_07062007 - In order to get right up to Kvernufoss, there was still some more hiking to do
Kvernufoss_039_07062007 - That's me finally at the base of Kvernufoss
Kvernufoss_026_07062007 - Focused on a long-exposure view of Kvernufoss


See our Skógafoss page for specific driving directions on getting here.

Once at the falls, instead of parking for Skógafoss, continue straight towards the Hotel Edda Skogar.

In hindsight, I think we could’ve driven closer to the falls by going all the way to the end of the road to where the turf farms were.

However, I was content to just walk from our accommodation.

For additional context, Skogar was 149km (2 hours drive) east of Reykjavík and 102km (over an hour drive) west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur.

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Tagged with: skogar, ring road, south region, southern iceland, iceland, waterfall, sudurland, skoga, selfoss, reykjavik, skogafoss, skogasafn, turf farm



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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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