Waterfalls of Iceland

I have seen waterfalls in India like the Jog falls and it is beautiful. I find it very fascinating to stand in front of the magnum water body and feel the gravity pull water to itself. And now before the poet in me starts penning some poems I better talk about the waterfalls of Iceland.

I saw more than a couple of them and all were mesmerizing and captivating.

Gullfoss 

To start with we went to the Gullfoss, meaning the golden falls. It is the most popular of all waterfalls in Iceland.

To stand at Gullfoss and wallow in the beauty and the wonder of nature is an uplifting experience. One feels more energetic when leaving Gullfoss than when arriving. That’s the impact these unique nature sites such as Gullfoss and Geysir have on us.

Gullfoss7

Now some interesting facts

  •  Gullfoss is in the river Hvítá (engl. white river), which has its origin in the glacier lake Hvítávatn (engl. white river lake) at Lángjökull glacier about 40km north of Gullfoss.

Gullfoss3

Gullfoss2

gullfoss1

  • Gullfoss is called the “Golden Falls”, since on a sunny day the water plunging down the three step staircase and then tumbeling in two steps down into the 32 m deep crevice truly looks golden.

Gullfoss6

So the story goes that Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson who owned the waterfall in the first half of the 20th century must have felt the same. She lived at a farm nearby and loved Gullfoss as no one else.

At this period of time much speculation about using Gullfoss to harness electricity was going on. Foreign investors who rented Gullfoss indirectly from the owners wanted to build a hydroelectric powerplant, which would have changed and destroyed Gullfoss forever.

 

Because of  Sigríður Tómasdóttir that we still can uplift ourself with the beauty of Gullfoss, because she was the one that protested so intensly against these plans by going as far to threat that she would throw herself into Gullfoss and therby kill herself.

To make her threat believeable she went barefoot on a protest march from Gullfoss to Reykjavik. In those days the roads weren’t paved and when she arrived after 120 kilometers her feet were bleeding and she was in very bad shape.
The people believed her and listened and the powerplant at Gullfoss was never built.

Gullfoss5

And friends you have to believe me, I am no less than Sigríður Tómasdóttir as it was so breezy that I was just flying away with my camera, while no one dared to come and click the falls – I your brave heart friend went ahead and captured the spectacular falls, you may see the water splashes on the lens but there was no chance of wiping it off and clicking 🙁

 Skógafoss

The Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a width of 25 metres (82 feet) and a drop of 60 m (200 ft). Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days.

SF1

I love hearing legends and the guide told me the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. The ring was allegedly given to the local church. The old church door ring is now in a museum, though whether it gives any credence to the folklore is debatable.

And I so wanted to run behind the waterfall and get the treasure out, but the guide said he had developed a crush on me and what if I never returned, can’t risk a broken heart so i let the treasure go—sigh!

SF3

SF4

 

SF5

Seljalandsfoss (don’t try pronouncing it :)) 

Seljalandsfoss is situated between Selfoss and Skógafoss, where Route 1 (the Ring Road) meets the track going to Þórsmörk.

SJ6

This waterfall of the river Seljalandsá drops 60 metres (200 ft) over the cliffs of the former coastline. It is possible to walk behind the waterfall.

It was a waypoint during the first leg of The Amazing Race 6.

SJ4

I was disappointed when I reached here. No the fall is beautiful ofcourse but the guide told us that we cannot go behind the falls as we reached this waterfall much later than expected.

SJ3

Slejalandsfoss is very famous for its route behind the waterfall for visitors to enjoy its view. You must walk down the track behind the waterfall to watch the river fall from the cliffs. The site is mind blowing, you get to see one of the most picturesque sites of nature. 
SJ2
SJ7
While I could not click the pictures from behind I can atleast show you one picture from the internet that will give you an idea why I was let down :(.
SJ8

Google image

So we soaked and drenched ourselves in the waterfalls didn’t we 🙂 The last part of the series will be the most innovative post I would have written after the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Promise to awestruck you with my captures next post 🙂 Cheers and keep travelling, one life isn’t enough to see the world 🙂

 

54 Comments
  1. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  2. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  3. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  4. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  5. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  6. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  7. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  8. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  9. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  10. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  11. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  12. June 4, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  13. June 5, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  14. June 5, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  15. June 5, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  16. June 5, 2015
    • June 5, 2015
  17. June 5, 2015
    • June 9, 2015
  18. June 5, 2015
    • June 9, 2015
  19. June 9, 2015
  20. June 11, 2015
  21. June 16, 2015
  22. June 20, 2015
    • July 7, 2015
  23. June 23, 2015
    • July 7, 2015
  24. June 28, 2015
    • July 7, 2015
  25. October 23, 2015
  26. January 16, 2016
  27. February 29, 2016
  28. March 28, 2016
  29. April 12, 2016
  30. June 3, 2016

Leave a Reply to Maniparna Sengupta Majumder Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *