Hengifoss
Hengifoss is a waterfall in East Iceland, Iceland — about 665 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
Hengifoss is the third highest waterfall in Iceland, 128 meters. It is located in Hengifossá in Fljótsdalshreppur, East Iceland.
As a photography stop, Hengifoss is a waterfall in East Iceland, roughly 665 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.
Hengifoss sits inside the waterfall photography map for Iceland, 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.
At 128 m this is the third highest waterfall in Iceland, set in a cliff of basalt layered with bands of red clay. Those red bands, with fossil tree trunks and lignite, record a warmer climate in the late Tertiary.
- Height
- 128 m — the third highest in Iceland
- Strata
- Basalt layers separated by red clay bands, with fossilised tree trunks and lignite
- What they mean
- Evidence of warmer climates in the latter Tertiary
- Walk
- 40–60 minutes from the parking area
- On the way
- Litlanesfoss, with columnar jointing, sits downstream on the same river
The red banding is the reason to come and the reason to think about weather: wet rock saturates those bands and dry overcast flattens them, so the same cliff varies far more than a grey basalt one would. Litlanesfoss on the same path means the walk has two subjects, not one.
SourcesHengifoss — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (65.096, -14.890). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 22 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 1.6° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.6 h of daylight (11:06–14:44), but the sun never climbs above 1.6° — 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
Hengifoss is a waterfall in East Iceland, Iceland, approximately 665 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Hengifoss 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.
Hengifoss is best visited during Summer. Outside that window, expect limited access, weather closures, or significantly different photographic conditions.