If I Were Going...: Hringvegur Plus #14: Southern Waterfalls

Skógafoss; Photo: Scott Stevens

As we continued on the final days of our Hringvegur adventure, we were now revisiting familiar territory along the South Coast of Iceland in Suðurland.

The impressive Lómagnúpur is right on the Hringvegur

But, even among the familiar, we found some new.

A great place to pose

Most of the post will deal with what makes this part of Iceland so famous.

Waterfalls!

The terrain creates the environment for spectacular waterfalls. Iceland is centered on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is an active spreading rift of two large continental plates; the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

As the tectonic plates move apart, magma rises up resulting in basaltic volcanism.

Starting about 70 million years ago, these volcanoes started creating the island that is now Iceland. The eruptions produced prodigious amounts of lava, which cooled into basalt cliffs.

Volcanic Cliff; Photo: Scott Stevens

On the south ocean-facing part of the island, erosion then created a flat plain between the cliffs and the sea. The Hringvegur travels along this narrow flat plain between the tall cliffs and the ocean.

Vatnajökull: Photo: Wikipedia

Iceland it topped by glaciers – 269 named glaciers to be specific.

The largest ice cap in the country, Vatnajökull, is Europe's largest glacier, covering an area of 3,100 square miles, about 8 percent of the country.

These glaciers melt and freeze and melt with the seasons.

The runoff creates streams of fast-moving water that eventually reach – and tumble over – these cliffs.

Viola! Waterfalls!

Falls like this are everywhere on the South Coast

Iceland has a number of famous waterfalls and several are easily accessible from the Hringvegur (even visible from the road).

Foss

One we always stop at is less dramatic than the others because the close-to-road part has already traveled down the cliff and is more of a wildly cascading creek along the road.

The cascade is just beside the Hringvegur; Photo: Scott Stevens

This is Foss, which has a name that just cracks me up. It’s just “Foss.” And “foss” means waterfall. So, in the U.S., this would be called “Waterfall.” Just “Waterfall.”

The aptly named Foss; Photo: Scott Stevens

But, it’s a pretty one.

Seljalandsfoss

Born in the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Seljalandsfoss drops 197 feet over a cliff that is hollowed out behind the falls in such a way that you can walk behind it.

The trail is on the top of the green area behind the falls

Of course, if you do, you get wet because, in addition to lots of waterfalls, Iceland has lots of wind.

But, it’s a pretty falls and, if you get there early enough, you can have it pretty much to yourself.

A peaceful scene

I’ve been there every time I’ve gone to Iceland, but this time I learned something new. I knew there were some additional falls a little further down the way, but I wasn’t aware of how beautiful and interesting the final one down the line was.

Looking back at Seljalandsfoss from the trail to additional falls

Gljúfrafoss

We initially drove down toward this “new” falls looking for a restroom. What we found is a cascade of water that falls within a cavern.

You can't really see where it goes

Indeed, Gljúfrafoss means "one who lives in the canyon." It’s basically a hidden falls. You can see the top and you can see the falls if you angle yourself toward a cleft in the canyon.

If you stand in the right place, you can see the falls

But, from most directions, the falls are partially obscured by the cliff rock.

Scott took the plunge

These falls were a complete surprise and I was not wearing a rain jacket or my waterproof shoes (the shoes I had worn most days in Iceland), so I opted not to take the (very damp) trail into the falls.

Scott did and I wish I had. Next time I go, I will.

This falls was a complete surprise. I can’t believe I never read about it!

Looking up provides an interesting perspective

Skógafoss

Just a smidge further down the road is Skógafoss, the big mama of South Coast Falls.

This is a late afternoon shot; not as pretty as on a sunny day

This 82-foot-wide and 200-foot-tall waterfall is not only dramatic in its own right, but the waterfall's copious spray combined with its angle to the sun consistently produces a single or double rainbow on sunny days.

Double rainbow

Vikings didn't have the luxury of the Skógafoss cafe

According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall.

The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again.

Photo: Skógar Museum

The ring was allegedly given to the local church. The old church door ring is now in the Skógar Museum.

This gorgeous waterfall graces many Iceland tourism ads and guidebook covers and, indeed, is the cover of our family’s 2022 calendar.

Definitely one of the more visited spots in Iceland

It has been in many movies, including Thor: The Dark World and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

A scene from Vikings

In the History Channel series, Vikings, the character Floki witnesses Skógafoss when he discovers Iceland and in Game of Thrones, Daenerys and Jon Snow fly to Skógafoss with her dragons and kiss in front of it (but they altered it to make it a double falls) ...

The Falls are altered here

This is Skógafoss in winter; Photo taken in 2015

Skógafoss is definitely a “must stop” in Iceland.

And, fortunately, it’s an easy one.

Everyone should go, if only to have a rainbow over your head!

"Private" foss; Photo: Scott Stevens

“Magic Falls”

There are many, many other waterfalls along the southern leg of the Hringvegur.

Some are marked on maps, some are not.

Some have signs and some do not.

Some are public and some are private (although the owners often are fine with tourists looking at their waterfalls.).

Some are easy to access to photograph and some are behind fences, across fields or on the other side of a river.

This one beckoned from afar

I was enthralled with what I call “magic falls:” beautiful cascades that fall in emerald-green canyons that look like they should be inhabited by fairies (perhaps they are).

One of the unnamed fairy falls

Often, they are right behind farms or houses. This is a new goal for me: to live on property punctuated by a dramatic waterfall. How cool would that be?

This seems like heaven; Photo: Scott Stevens

We also visited a waterfall that flowed from the end of a canyon into a river that cut through a lava field on its way to the ocean.

Rough terrain with a waterfall in the distance; Photo: Scott Stevens

Typical vegetation

This part of Iceland is newer that the north and northwest, so the lumpy, clumpy ground still obviously displays its origin as a lava flow.

The rocks have a thin layer of vegetation – tundra-type grasses and flowers – but not enough to hide its true character.

And, it’s this ground that dictates how many Icelanders make a living: as sheep farmers.

We saw sheep in some impossible places

Sheep

It’s too rough and rocky for agriculture (plus the climate is a bit harsh). But thick-coated domestic sheep, which descended from mountain-climbing sheep species, are well-suited to both the rough terrain and the cold, wet, windy weather.

The only breed found in Iceland is the Icelandic Sheep, a member of the Northern European Short-tailed group of sheep.

Icelandic Sheep are larger than most breeds in that group and, while often white, have a broad range of colors and markings.

This is referred to as a "Grey"

Thought to be introduced to Iceland by Vikings in the late ninth or early tenth century, Icelandic Sheep are short-legged and stocky with double-coated fleece and wool-less faces and legs.

They are highly resistant to cold, and are generally left unshorn for the winter.

I doubt that these sheep even felt that cold water

Icelandic ewes are highly prolific, with a lambing percentage of 175-220 percent. Some can even produce large litters of lambs. A unique strain within the population is the Leader sheep, which carries a hereditary ability or predisposition to lead other sheep safely over dangerous ground.

The typical white Icelandic Sheep

There are an estimated 432,000 sheep in Iceland, almost 20 percent more than the number of people.

Horses (Again)

The rough terrain also dictated that early Viking settlers bring their best and surest-footed horses, which over the centuries became the iconic Icelandic Horse.

A common sight in open fields in Suðurland: Photo: Scott Stevens

I have already written about them in past blogs, but I have to mention them again because we saw so many on the South Coast.

They usually approach if you go to the fence that encloses them

Among the one we saw was one that I believe is probably named Fabbio.

Gorgeous!

I mean, this one looks like the cover of a romance novel. And, the blue eyes! Have you ever seen a blue-eyed horse?

Fabbio with a more typical horse; Photo: Scott Stevens

When I did a little Internet research, I found that blue eyes in horses aren’t rare, pe se, but they generally occur only in certain breeds and, most often, in horses with light coats and light faces.

Obviously, this horse had a light-and-dark coat and those gorgeous peepers occurred on a dark face. So, I’m calling it unusual at the least.