Kirkjufellsfoss
Kirkjufellsfoss is a waterfall in West Iceland, Iceland — about 180 km from Reykjavik and reached by a straightforward drive from the nearest highway turnoff. 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
A beautiful waterfall in Snaefellsnes Peninsula
As a photography stop, Kirkjufellsfoss is a waterfall in West Iceland, roughly 180 km from Reykjavik, reached by a straightforward drive from the nearest highway turnoff. 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.
Kirkjufellsfoss sits inside all 43 waterfall locations, 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.
The falls are small; what makes the frame is Kirkjufell behind them. The mountain is 463 m, a nunatak that stood above the Ice Age glaciers, built from alternating Pleistocene lava and sandstone with tuff at the summit.
- The mountain
- Kirkjufell, 463 m, on the Snæfellsnes peninsula near Grundarfjörður
- Formation
- A nunatak — it protruded above the glaciers during the Ice Age
- Rock
- Alternating layers of Pleistocene lava and sandstone, with tuff at the summit
- Reputation
- Claimed to be the most photographed mountain in Iceland
- Climbing
- Around three hours in summer and autumn; the steep sections are dangerous when wet, and there have been fatalities in 1945, 2017, 2018 and 2022
The layered lava-and-sandstone structure is what gives the mountain its stepped profile, and it is the profile — not the waterfall — that carries the picture. Worth noting that the mountain is a genuinely hazardous climb rather than a walk-up, which is a different proposition from photographing it from the falls.
SourcesKirkjufell — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (64.926, -23.311). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 21.8 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 1.8° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.7 h of daylight (11:36–15:21), but the sun never climbs above 1.8° — 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
Kirkjufellsfoss is a waterfall in West Iceland, Iceland, approximately 180 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Kirkjufellsfoss 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 access. A standard rental car works in most seasons; check road status in winter before committing. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Kirkjufellsfoss can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.