Today was going to be about waterfalls. The first one we reached was also the easiest (only) one that could be seen from the ring road and was an East waterfall.
It is considered one of the tallest in Iceland dropping 305 feet. The rocky structure divides the cascading water into multiple drops. Since I walked about halfway, my shot doesn’t show the full cascade. Actually, looking my photo now – it’s not impressive, but it was more so in person. It would have helped if I had at least gotten more of the cascading water. Bummer. It was the only photo I took since Eric was waiting for me in the car.
The hike was considered to be 1 hour or less with the last bit being the steepest. There is a log book near where the water crashes to record your visit. We are not in the book. This photo was after the water had cascading down and was getting ready to go under the road to continue its journey.
Now for one of the best waterfalls in Iceland……..Dettifoss. I did think a part of this sign was humorous. Really? Someone would use their bicycle?
The water comes from a river formed from the melting glacier Vatnajökull collecting from a large area in Northeast Iceland. It is rich with sediment which colors the runoff a greyish-white. But first there was a trek to get there.
The pathway was fairly tight. You really didn’t want to step off to the side when passing others because you could see deep footprints from those that did. This was undoubtedly an issue as the sign states.
Paths were marked by these white & red stakes, seen above the snow. This pathway was obviously closed.
With the sun shining, we started to shed coats. The falls (yes, plural) were over 1 kilometer from the parking area.
We got to a point where climbing over rocks was the only way to go forward. We were right near the edge as we continued our journey.
Some call it the most powerful waterfall in Europe while others call it the second most powerful waterfall. The Rhine Falls in Switzerland can have a higher flow rate in the summer months. The debate continues. One thing to note, Dettifoss is double the height of the Rhine Falls.
Finally our trek brought results and we made it to the falls. Success!
There was a higher viewpoint which terminated our walk.
My research indicated the lower viewpoint got you closer to the water dropping and you felt the thunder of the water. Nope, not going to happen on this trip as that pathway was totally closed.
Here is a short video giving you a wider look at Dettifoss.
When I said plural waterfalls, there’s another called Selfoss, further up the river. We originally weren’t going to walk there and spend the time, but…………since the pathway had been altered, we were much, much closer to Selfoss. We walked.
The Selfoss waterfall is smaller but considered more elegant between the two. It is wider and more docile.
Here is a short video for Selfoss.
Even though this is a fairly harsh environment, I came across this hunk of moss blooming – very tiny but trying to continue growing.
Something I haven’t talked about is the purity of their glacier water. It is widely known and shared that individuals can drink straight from the streams. That was a goal for Eric. In between our waterfall journey, we took a slight detour. This also gave Eric a chance to drive off-roading, much like I did earlier in the week. We found a spot that we could pull off.
Our plans involved driving to Husavik for another great adventure – the same day. We had originally planned for that event the following day, but the weather was going to be some of the worst. We needed to get going and head north. My next post will share that awesome adventure.
Darden Travels 