Aldeyjarfoss
Aldeyjarfoss is a waterfall in North Iceland, Iceland — about 462 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it during the summer window, when light, road status, and crowd levels line up for photography, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
The Aldeyjarfoss waterfall is situated in the Highlands of Iceland at the northern part of the Sprengisandur Highland Road
As a photography stop, Aldeyjarfoss is a waterfall in North Iceland, roughly 462 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Plan the shoot during the summer window, when light, road status, and crowd levels line up for photography. The downloadable Waterfall map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Planning more than one stop? Open the Iceland waterfalls GPS map to put Aldeyjarfoss on the same offline layer as everything nearby.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
A 20 m drop on the Skjálfandafljót — the same river as Goðafoss, much further upstream — set into columnar jointed basalt from the Bárðardalshraun lava field, roughly 9,000 years old.
- Drop
- 20 m
- River
- Skjálfandafljót
- Rock
- Columnar jointed basalt from the Bárðardalshraun lava field, about 9,000 years old
- Where
- The Highlands, at the northern end of the Sprengisandur highland road
Like Svartifoss, the columns are the subject as much as the water — but here they enclose a much larger drop, so the two can be framed together rather than traded off. Sitting on a highland road rather than a ring-road spur is the practical constraint: this is a summer-season location by access, not by light.
SourcesAldeyjarfoss — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (65.366, -17.337). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 22.4 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 1.3° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.4 h of daylight (11:21–14:48), but the sun never climbs above 1.4° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 13 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Aldeyjarfoss is a waterfall in North Iceland, Iceland, approximately 462 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Aldeyjarfoss is Summer. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Drive/Hike access. Bring weather-appropriate footwear and check conditions before setting out. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Aldeyjarfoss is best visited during Summer. Outside that window, expect limited access, weather closures, or significantly different photographic conditions.