Waterfalls You Can Walk Behind in Iceland: All 8, With Coordinates

Short answer

Seljalandsfoss is the one — a made path loops around the back of a 60 m drop, right beside Route 1 on the South Coast. Seven more falls have a path or a cave behind the water, and most of them are empty: Kvernufoss, Gluggafoss, Fardagafoss, Skútafoss, Gilsárfoss, Þingmannaá and Göngumannafoss. None needs a 4x4. The path behind Seljalandsfoss usually closes from October to April, when spray turns the rock and the walkway to ice.

Ring Road (R1) openHighlands: 1 of 7 monitored roads closed or impassableVegagerðin, updated just now

The 8 walk-behind waterfalls — coordinates, and who says so

Waterfall	Region	Latitude	Longitude	Height	From Reykjavík	Walk-behind per
Seljalandsfoss	South Coast	63.6155	-19.9882	60 m	112 km	Our own data
Kvernufoss	South Coast	63.5287	-19.4805	30 m	139 km	Our own data
Gluggafoss	South Coast	63.7213	-19.8922	47 m	111 km	Guide to Iceland
Fardagafoss	East Iceland	65.2688	-14.3139	Not recorded	383 km	Guide to Iceland
Skútafoss	East Iceland	64.3423	-14.9475	Not recorded	339 km	Guide to Iceland
Gilsárfoss	East Iceland	64.9268	-13.9154	Not recorded	393 km	Guide to Iceland
Þingmannaá	Westfjords	65.5843	-23.1125	Not recorded	169 km	Guide to Iceland
Göngumannafoss	Westfjords	65.7352	-23.2039	Not recorded	186 km	Guide to Iceland

Decimal degrees, WGS-84 — paste the pair into any phone map or rental sat-nav. The distance column is straight-line from central Reykjavík, not a drive: the Westfjords entries are around 200 km as the crow flies and most of a day by road, because the road goes round every fjord and the crow does not.

The last column is the part no other walk-behind list publishes. Where it says “our own data”, our POI record for that fall states the path behind the water — 2 of the 8 do. The rest are reported from Guide to Iceland’s walk-behind list, which is the page currently ranking for this search. We have not personally stood behind all eight, and saying so seems better than implying we have.

Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi, 600 m apart

The two falls share a car park, and they are not the same experience — one has a path behind the water, the other a canyon you wade into. Open the map to see how close they sit.

Walk-behind fallsOpen the waterfall map

The two you can walk behind on one South Coast afternoon

If you have a single day and you are driving east from Reykjavík, these are the two that matter. They are 25 km apart on the same road, and doing both takes about half a day including the walking.

#1.Seljalandsfoss — the one everybody means

height: 60 mcoordinates: 63.6155, -19.9882access: paved car park, paid

Seljalandsfoss falls clear of the cliff, which is the whole reason the path works — there is a dry-ish gap between the rock and the water, and you walk through it. Paved car park off Route 1, paid. A few minutes on a made path, then the loop round the back. The famous one, and the busiest. Early morning or late evening if you want a photo without strangers in it.

You will get wet. The chamber behind the fall swirls spray in from every direction and a hood does not fully help. Grippy boots matter more than waterproofs, because the rock underfoot is permanently soaked and polished by everyone who came before you.

#2.Kvernufoss — the same trick, without the crowd

height: 30 mcoordinates: 63.5287, -19.4805access: 15-minute walk

Kvernufoss sits in a small green canyon 1.5 km from Skógafoss, and you can walk behind this one too. Park at the Skógar folk museum; the path starts behind it. Roughly 15 minutes on foot up a small canyon. The quiet alternative, 1.5 km from Skógafoss. Most coaches never turn off for it. Our own record for it says people often prefer it to its famous neighbour, and that matches what the walk feels like — you come round a corner and it is just there, usually with nobody in it.

Gljúfrabúi is not a walk-behind fall — it is a walk-into one

This needs saying because half the listicles get it wrong. Gljúfrabúi is 596 m from Seljalandsfoss, hidden behind a rock wall. You wade up a shallow stream through a slot in the cliff and come out in a mossy chamber with the fall in front of you and a circle of sky above. It is arguably the better experience of the two. But there is no path around the back, and people who arrive expecting one arrive in trainers.

Waterproof boots, or accept wet feet for the rest of the day. Height on record: 40 m.

The five almost nobody drives to

These are on published walk-behind lists rather than in our own records, and they are spread across the east and the Westfjords, so nobody visits them as a set. Take whichever one your route already passes.

#3.Gluggafoss — South Coast

height: 47 mcoordinates: 63.7213, -19.8922distance: 111 km from Reykjavík, straight line

Gluggafoss — Two tiers with holes in the rock the water pours through — the "window" the name refers to. Signed off road 261 in Fljótshlíð, then a short walk. Also called Merkjárfoss.

#4.Fardagafoss — East Iceland

height: Not recordedcoordinates: 65.2688, -14.3139distance: 383 km from Reykjavík, straight line

Fardagafoss — A cave behind the water, and a view back down over the town and Lagarfljót. Off road 93 just above Egilsstaðir, then a steep marked hike of roughly half an hour.

#5.Skútafoss — East Iceland

height: Not recordedcoordinates: 64.3423, -14.9475distance: 339 km from Reykjavík, straight line

Skútafoss — Two falls in a small gorge. You will likely be the only car there. Short walk from a gravel track off Route 1 north-east of Höfn, in Laxárdalur.

#6.Gilsárfoss — East Iceland

height: Not recordedcoordinates: 64.9268, -13.9154distance: 393 km from Reykjavík, straight line

Gilsárfoss — Small, and the whole appeal is that nobody has heard of it. Roadside in the eastern fjords, a short scramble from where you stop.

#7.Þingmannaá — Westfjords

height: Not recordedcoordinates: 65.5843, -23.1125distance: 169 km from Reykjavík, straight line

Þingmannaá — A staircase of drops on the way to Flókalundur. We rank page one for it and almost nobody visits. In the Þingmannaá river beside Route 60 in Vatnsfjörður, Westfjords — a walk up from the road.

#8.Göngumannafoss — Westfjords

height: Not recordedcoordinates: 65.7352, -23.2039distance: 186 km from Reykjavík, straight line

Göngumannafoss — The name means "walking man's falls". Most people photograph Dynjandi and walk straight past it. Part of the Dynjandi cluster in Arnarfjörður — the same car park, on the walk up.

When the path behind the water is closed

Standing behind a waterfall in Iceland is a summer activity, and the reason is not comfort. Spray freezes everything it lands on: the walkway, the rock you steady yourself against, and the cliff above your head. Icicles form on that cliff and come down without warning. The loop behind Seljalandsfoss is usually roped off from October to April for exactly that reason, and when it is roped off, that is not a suggestion.

You can still see all eight of these falls in winter, from the front, and several look better half-frozen than they do in July. What changes is the walk behind them. Two practical rules: decide on the day rather than planning a trip around a path that may be shut, and if the rope is across it, photograph it from the front and drive on.

For the drive itself, the live line at the top of this page is the national picture; road conditions has the detail and can I drive there today? gives a verdict for a specific route. Westfjords roads to Þingmannaá and Göngumannafoss close in winter storms much more readily than the South Coast does, so check those two properly rather than optimistically.

Frequently
asked questions

Which waterfall in Iceland can you walk behind?

Seljalandsfoss, on the South Coast just off Route 1 — a made path loops right around the back of the 60 m drop and you stand behind the water looking out. It is the one people mean, and the only walk-behind fall in Iceland with a paved car park and a paid ticket machine. Kvernufoss, about 25 km east near the Skógar folk museum, has the same trick with a fraction of the people.

How many waterfalls in Iceland can you walk behind?

This page lists eight, which is more than any single guide we found. Two — Seljalandsfoss and Kvernufoss — are confirmed walk-behind in our own POI data. The other six (Gluggafoss, Fardagafoss, Skútafoss, Gilsárfoss, Þingmannaá and Göngumannafoss) come from Guide to Iceland's published list and are attributed as such in the table. The honest total is "at least eight": Iceland has thousands of unnamed drops and nobody has surveyed which ones have a path behind them.

Can you walk behind Gljúfrabúi?

No, and this is worth getting right because plenty of listicles say otherwise. At Gljúfrabúi you wade up a shallow stream INTO a slot canyon and stand in a chamber with the fall in front of you — you go inside it, not behind it. Wear waterproof boots, expect wet feet regardless, and do it from the same car park as Seljalandsfoss, which is 600 m away.

Is the path behind Seljalandsfoss open in winter?

Often not. The spray freezes the path and the rock above it, and the operator closes the loop behind the fall when it ices up — Guide to Iceland reports it as usually blocked off from October to April. Icicles falling from the cliff are the specific hazard, not just slipping. You can still see and photograph the fall from the front all winter; treat the walk behind it as a summer thing and check on the day rather than planning around it.

Do you get wet walking behind a waterfall in Iceland?

Yes. Not "a bit damp" — at Seljalandsfoss the wind swirls spray into the whole chamber and you come out as wet as if it had rained on you. A waterproof shell with a hood, boots with real grip, and your phone or camera in something sealed. Anything you would mind getting soaked stays in the car.

Do you need a 4x4 to reach the walk-behind waterfalls?

No, not for any of the eight. Seljalandsfoss, Kvernufoss and Gluggafoss are off paved South Coast roads; Fardagafoss, Skútafoss and Gilsárfoss are short detours off Route 1 in the east; Þingmannaá and Göngumannafoss are on paved Westfjords roads, though Westfjords routes close in winter storms far more readily than the South Coast does. None needs an F-road. Check the live road line at the top of this page before a Westfjords or east-fjords drive.