Iceland Diary #3: All Of The Waterfalls

The third day of our Iceland road trip saw us starting towards the coast to get on the Ring Road, the main highway of Iceland, and away from the “Golden Circle” – an area around Reykjavik with the most sights and tour activities (Thingvellir, Geysir, hot springs, etc.) However, before we left, there was one last stop in the Golden Circle that we needed to check out – Gulfoss, or the Golden Waterfall.

It isn’t the most powerful waterfall in Iceland (that one’s up north), but it is huge. The pictures can’t convey the size and power of it, even though I did try to include people in my photos, so you guys can imagine the scale. We felt the spray all the way from the parking lot, and I was really glad I got my waterproof jacket and boots with me. There were tourists walking around in sandals and flipflops (I guess they didn’t want their shoes wet?) and I admit, I side-eyed them really hard.

Coincidentally, our drive to the Ring Road also took us past two more famous waterfalls, and they’re literally by the side of the road, so we didn’t have to go out of our way to see them. First up is Seljalandsfoss. It’s most well-known for the fact that you can walk behind it (and why most packing lists for Iceland recommend that you bring rain pants – but honestly, the spray wasn’t that bad.)

The second waterfall is Skógafoss, which is right in the backyard of our hostel. We planned on walking there after dinner, but when we arrived, it started raining. We didn’t mind too much – it was the first rain we encountered in Iceland – though by the time it stopped, we were too tired, so we decided to turn in early and saved Skógafoss for the next morning.

It turned out to be a great decision, because the next morning was clear and sunny, and it allowed us to even see a rainbow by the waterfall.

The obligatory cheesy rainbow photo

With that crossed off our list, we continued along the coast, onto our next destination!

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