About Mulafoss
Mulafoss (Múlafoss) was one of the uppermost of the series of waterfalls and cascades tumbling down the Fjarðará from the pass at Fjarðarheiði to the harbor at Seyðisfjörður.
While the stream features countless cascades and waterfalls, only a few of them actually have official names to them, and Múlafoss happens to be one of them (Gufufoss is another notable one).
Speaking of names, I’m aware that there are many other waterfalls in Iceland sharing the name Múlafoss, which means “Mule Falls”, as I’ve noticed them on my topo map so it’s a pretty common name.
As for the significance of this particular waterfall, it sits beneath a monument at Neðri-Stafur, which was dedicated to transportation pioneer Þorbjörn Arnoddsson.
He took the initiative to provide a winter snow vehicle service over the Fjarðarheiði pass in 1952 so the town of Seyðisfjörður wouldn’t be isolated in the Winter, and he kept this up for 10 years.
These days, the road over the pass may be closed from time to time due to snow, but the closure typically doesn’t last for months like it used to.
When we first visited Seyðisfjörður in early July 2007, the Þorbjörn Arnoddsson monument was actually a quick roadside stop beside the Route 93.
However, when we came back in August 2021, we noticed that we had to walk to the monument, and this was the same walk that enabled us to seek out Múlafoss.
From the Neðri-Stafur car park (see directions below), we walked about 400m between the Road 93 and the Fjarðará Stream to the organ-looking Þorbjörn Arnoddsson memorial.
Then, we followed some unofficial use-trails down slope on a scramble where we tried to tread where other people have gone before and not trample the moss to start new trails.
While the scramble was a bit suss (I’m sure the authorities at some point will either set up closure barricades or try to turn them into an official trail with lookout), we’d eventually catch our first decent views of the waterfall in about 150m.
At this point, we basically got a somewhat partial profile glimpse of Múlafoss as I didn’t feel comfortable getting any closer to the cliff edges to improve the view.
Once we had our fill of the falls, we just scrambled back up the way we came, but along the way, we noticed other alternate views of the main drop of Múlafoss as well as a smaller upper tier.
Finally, on the way back to the car park, I did notice that there was a bridge over the Fjarðará Stream.
However, after briefly exploring what was on the other side, I noticed that the bridge’s far end was loose and that there was a sign suggesting 4 hikes, including one that continued from here along a mountain shoulder to a view over the town.
I didn’t pursue those trails any further so I can’t say anything more about them, but the narrowness of the trails along with the condition of the bridge suggested to me that they don’t see that much traffic, especially compared to the Road 93.
Overall, my Mom and I spent about an hour away from the car to cover the roughly 1-1.2km distance, which included the scrambling.
Authorities
Mulafoss (Múlafoss) resides in the East Region near Seyðisfjörður, Iceland. It is administered by the municipality of Múlaþing. For information or inquiries about the general area as well as current conditions, you may want to try visiting their website.
Mulafoss (Múlafoss) can be seen from the Route 93 just beneath the Fjarðarheiði Pass as we headed up to the pass about 4.5km from the main three-way intersection in Seyðisfjörður.
However, in order to get a better experience, we had to drive up about 6.2km from the main three-way intersection in town or about 18.3km east of the Route 93 and Route 94 intersection near Egilsstaðir.
That’s where there’s a dedicated car park for Neðri-Stafur, and the hike to both the Þorbjörn Arnoddsson monument as well as Múlafoss begins.
For some geographical context, Seyðisfjörður is 27km (about 30 minutes drive) east of Egilsstaðir, 201km (about 2.5 hours drive) east of Mývatn, 274km (3.5 hours drive) east of Akureyri, 212km (about 3 hours drive) north of Höfn, 474km (about 6 hours drive) northeast of Vík, and 661km (8 hours drive) northeast of Reykjavík.
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Deliberate 360 degree sweep starting with Mulafoss before showing cascades in the distance and then ending up back at the falls
360 degree sweep starting from a more closer profile view of the falls before panning around the ending back at the falls
360 degree sweep in the other direction showing the fog towards Seydisfjordur before ending up at the upper drop of Mulafoss
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