Gljúfursárfoss
Gljúfursárfoss is a waterfall in East Iceland, Iceland — about 618 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
Gljúfursárfoss is a striking waterfall with a single drop of roughly 45 metres, easy to reach, not far from Vopnafjörður in the east of Iceland.
As a photography stop, Gljúfursárfoss is a waterfall in East Iceland, roughly 618 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.
Gljúfursárfoss sits inside the Iceland waterfalls GPS map, alongside the other spots worth routing a day around.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
About 45 m down a colourful ravine on the southern side of Vopnafjörður, just below a parking area. A marked path follows the Gljúfursá from the car park to an old bridge of around 1900.
- Height
- About 45 m
- The ravine
- The water runs down a colourful ravine
- Where
- The southern side of Vopnafjörður, just below a parking area
- The path
- A marked hiking path from the car park follows the river to an old bridge built around 1900
- History
- The river was historically a significant danger to travellers crossing the mountain pass
- Not in the source
- The cited page does not say the waterfall falls directly into the sea, and does not mention a viewing platform
Being immediately below a car park makes this one of the few 45 m falls in the catalog with no walk at all — worth knowing when the weather is against you and a long approach is not on. The marked path to the 1900 bridge is the other half: the same stop can be a two-minute look or an hour with a second subject at the end of it.
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (65.747, -14.676). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 23.3 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 0.9° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.1 h of daylight (11:19–14:28), but the sun never climbs above 1° — 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
Gljúfursárfoss is a waterfall in East Iceland, Iceland, approximately 618 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Gljúfursárfoss 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.
Gljúfursárfoss is best visited during Summer. Outside that window, expect limited access, weather closures, or significantly different photographic conditions.