Gluggafoss
Gluggafoss is a waterfall in South Coast, Iceland — about 124 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
Gluggafoss is a waterfall in southern Iceland, specifically in the Fljótshlíð area
As a photography stop, Gluggafoss is a waterfall in South Coast, roughly 124 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. 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.
Gluggafoss is one waypoint of many — you can load the waterfall photography map for Iceland before you leave signal.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
Also called Merkjárfoss: about 52 m in two stages on the river Merkjá — 44 m into a narrow recess, then 8.5 m through three channels. The name means "window falls", for the holes worn through the soft palagonite that the water runs behind.
- Height
- About 52 m total — 44 m into a narrow recess, then 8.5 m through three channels
- The windows
- Holes and tunnels worn in the soft palagonite — gluggar, "windows"
- The cliff
- Palagonite tuff above, basalt below
- Before 1947
- The upper half could be seen only through three vertically arranged holes
- What changed it
- The 1947 Hekla eruption, about 30 km away, filled the river and the tunnels with ash and cut visibility for decades; erosion has since undone the blockages
- River
- The Merkjá, which gives the alternative name Merkjárfoss
A waterfall that has visibly changed within living memory: ash from 1947 blocked the windows the fall is named for, and erosion has since reopened them. Photographs from the intervening decades show a different waterfall, so older reference images are unreliable here in the same way Ófærufoss’s are. Soft palagonite is also still eroding, which means the shape is not fixed.
SourcesGluggafoss — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (63.721, -19.894). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- June: sun up 02:59–23:41 (20.7 h). Evening golden hour 21:52–23:41, light coming from the NNW.
- Winter
- December: only 4.4 h of daylight (11:01–15:28), but the sun never climbs above 3° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.9 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
Gluggafoss is a waterfall in South Coast, Iceland, approximately 124 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Gluggafoss is All. 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.
Yes — Gluggafoss can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.