Kolugljúfur Canyon
Kolugljúfur Canyon is a waterfall in North Iceland, Iceland — about 208 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
A canyon with waterfalls west of Laugarbakki in Northwestern Region of Iceland
As a photography stop, Kolugljúfur Canyon is a waterfall in North Iceland, roughly 208 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.
Kolugljúfur Canyon 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.
A rugged gorge on the Víðidalsá in the northwest, where calm river suddenly drops through a series of falls collectively named Kolufossar, after the giantess Kola. There is a viewing platform.
- River
- The Víðidalsá, which runs calm above the gorge and then plunges into it
- The falls
- Several cascades, together called Kolufossar
- The name
- For the giantess Kola
- Viewing
- A viewing platform overlooks the falls
- Access
- Road 715, near Kolugil farm in the Víðidalur valley
A river that runs flat and then drops into a gorge gives two quite different subjects within a few metres, and the platform fixes where the second one can be taken from — so the frame is largely decided before arrival. Widely repeated figures for the canyon’s depth and length are not in the source cited here and are deliberately left out.
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (65.333, -20.570). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 22.3 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 3.5 h of daylight (11:33–15:01), 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
Kolugljúfur Canyon is a waterfall in North Iceland, Iceland, approximately 208 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Kolugljúfur Canyon 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.
Kolugljúfur Canyon is best visited during Summer. Outside that window, expect limited access, weather closures, or significantly different photographic conditions.