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Sjavarfoss

Hvalfjordur, West Region (Vesturland) / Capital Region (Höfuðborgarsvæði), Iceland

Static Google Map of Sjavarfoss

About Sjavarfoss

Rating: 1
Difficulty: 1
Hiking Distance: roadside
Suggested Time:
Date first visited: 2007-06-21
Date last visited: 2007-06-21
Waterfall Latitude: 64.3528
Waterfall Longitude: -21.4526
Directions: Get to the waterfall
Vicinity: Find nearby waterfalls

Sjavarfoss (Sjávarfoss; pronounced “SHAU-var-foss”; labeled as “Fossa” on our map) was an unexpected waterfall we noticed waterfall while driving along Hvalfjörður on the way to Glymur. Despite its fairly small size (by Iceland standards), it got our attention enough that we took the time to pull over and walk towards it. And it was when we did that that we noticed there appeared to be ruins (or at least some maze of rocks) near the car park as well as lots of wildflowers fronting the falls.

There was a little car park next to the road overlooking the grassy area containing those “ruins.” We then took a very short trail that skirted between the road and the grassy area towards the stream in front of the falls. That was where we took the photo you see at the top of this page.

Back at the car park, there was a sign describing what we were seeing, apparently. However, I wasn’t fluent enough in Icelandic to be able to read it, but the site certainly looked historical and important. And if that’s the case, it would certainly add even more intrigue to this waterfall (like why the ruin would be there and how did they treat the waterfall?) since you don’t normally see history and waterfalls mix. Maybe they have a saga for it?

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While driving on Route 47 along Hvalfjörður towards Glymur, it was about 12km east of the turnoff for Route 48. Alternatively, if coming the other way, it’s roughly 7km west of the turnoff for Glymur.

This drive was roughly under an hour northeast of Reykjavik.

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Tagged with: hvalfjordur, west region, vesturland, iceland, waterfall, reykjavik, paddock, kjos

Visitor Comments:

Sjavarfoss May 15, 2013 9:45 pm by Anne Marie - I was told by our Icelandic guide this ruins were just coral fences, used to keep the sheep inside after the round up in autumn. Today they use modern corals, so this abandoned one looks like some archeological remain. The only thing I wonder is how they get the sheep there since it is surrounded… ...Read More

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