During our three months in Iceland, we saw a lot of waterfalls. Gullfoss, Dynjandi, Hraunfoss, Goðafoss, Seljalandsfoss, Svartifoss, Glymur and many more. But we couldn't claim to have adequately covered the waterfalls of Iceland until visiting Dettifoss, the largest and most powerful in Europe.
Goðafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods, is found just off the ring road near Akureyri. Although this makes it an easy stop for tour buses, don't let the threat of crowds keep you away from one of northern Iceland's most impressive natural sights.
For a rewarding day trip out of Reykjavík, it's hard to do better than Iceland's highest waterfall, Glymur. Found at the end of Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord), Glymur is hidden within a canyon, and an hour's hike is required before it comes into view. But the walk is gorgeous, and the waterfall itself completely worth the effort.
It was a beautiful morning when we arrived at the Reyjavík city airport for our third flight into the skies above Iceland. Our trips over the Golden Circle and the Westfjords had been outstanding, and today we'd be soaring over Iceland's four biggest glaciers, the Þórsmörk Valley and the Westman Islands.
On either side of Reykholt are two remarkable water-related sights. Measured by the volume of water produced, Deildartunguhver is the largest hot spring in Europe. And Hraunfoss, or the "Lava Field Waterfall", is precisely as strange as its name implies.
Without exaggeration, I think waterfalls might outnumber people in the Westfjords. Fed by the massive ice blocks which dominate the highland interior, and coursing down the mountains toward the shore, there seems to be another waterfall around every corner. Some are trickles, some mighty cascades, but the most impressive we saw throughout our time in the peninsula was easily Dynjandi.
"Don't go chasing waterfalls". Words of advice from TLC, the greatest American girl group of the 1990s. No doubt it's a catchy refrain, but what a terrible message! Why should three women who achieved their own dreams dissuade their fans from "chasing waterfalls"? To stick to the rivers that they're used to? I suspect T-Boz and co. were trying to nip future competition in the bud. And it's not just bad advice on a metaphorical level. As we've discovered in Iceland, waterfall-chasing can be very rewarding indeed.
