Vestdalsfossar

Vestdalsfossar is a series of waterfalls on the Vestdalsá river in Vestdalur, a nature reserve on the north side of Seyðisfjörður fjord in East Iceland. A marked trail from the Road 951 car park passes the lower falls — Vestdalsfossar and Selbrekkufoss — then climbs past Arnarfossar and Selfossar toward Vestdalsvatn lake.

The first falls are barely ten minutes from the car park, so you get the view without committing to the full climb. Keep going and the crowds thin out fast — this is East Iceland, not the Golden Circle.

The Vestdalur path was one of East Iceland's busiest trails between 1880 and 1910, carrying mail and trade over the mountains. In 2004, workers near Vestdalsvatn uncovered the bones of a woman about 30 years old, buried with more than 400 beads and brooches dated to around 940 AD — one of the region's most significant finds from the settlement era, now known locally as the Mountain Lady.

The full trail gains around 160 metres and the ground turns boggy and slick near the water. Go May–September: Vestdalsvatn stays frozen most of the year and the upper valley holds snow long into summer. Stick to the path — the moss doesn't recover.