Chasing Waterfalls in Iceland!

by Alyssa Ramos

I’ve been trying to see an awesome waterfall for a few months now, and definitely got my fix yesterday in Iceland when I took a 13 hour roadtrip along the South coast of the country! Not only are there massive, beautiful waterfalls that you can walk up to and even walk behind, but also tons of smaller ones that run down crevices of the majestic mountains.

What’s even cooler is that there’s usually a snow covered mountain or glacier, and/or a volcano right next to them! It’s like a mix of earth, fire, and ice (and I guess wind too) that’s so completely surreal that it almost made me crash my rental car a few times trying to take pictures of!

Here are some photos from a few of my favorite waterfalls yesterday, more details to follow!

1. Skogafoss

I literally shrieked with excitement when I saw Skogafoss from the road. It looked small since it was kind of in the distance, but as I drove up it was clear that it definitely was not. Skogafoss cascades down into a misty pool below, and is surrounded by green grass and moss that looks as vibrant as neon lights.

The coolest part was that you can even walk behind it, which made for some truly awesome views, even though the waterfall mist cloud got me soaked and I froze my ass off.

2. Svartifoss in Skaftafell National Park

The end goal of my little 13 hour road trip was to get to Skaftafell National Park to see Svartifoss – the “black waterfall” and the Joklurason glacier lagoon after. I had to do a bit of a hike to get to Svartifoss and clearly, left my official hiking gear at home, because the amount of strange looks and comments I got from geared up tourists in their extreme hiking outfits was just ridiculous, even though I was running up and down the mountain while they were struggling with their little hiking poles just to get up.

But I got there! There were three other waterfalls before the main black beauty, that cascades down black basalt columns into a smooth rocky pool. Several movies have been shot in the location, and you can definitely see why!

3. Other random Waterfalls

Here’s a few more waterfalls I saw while driving or hiking.