Ófærufoss
Ófærufoss is a waterfall in Westfjords & Remote, Iceland — about 278 km from Reykjavik and reached by a hike from the nearest pull-off (bring weather-appropriate footwear). 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
Ófærufoss is a waterfall situated in the Eldgjá chasm in central Iceland
As a photography stop, Ófærufoss is a waterfall in Westfjords & Remote, roughly 278 km from Reykjavik, reached by a hike from the nearest pull-off (bring weather-appropriate footwear). 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.
Ófærufoss is one waypoint of many — you can load all 43 waterfall locations before you leave signal.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
A 40 m fall in two drops on the Norðari-Ófærá, inside the Eldgjá chasm — a fissure about 600 m wide and 150 m deep, with an 8 km stretch open to walk. A natural stone arch spanned the falls until the early 1990s, when it collapsed.
- Size
- 40 m in two drops
- River
- Norðari-Ófærá, which runs through a row of craters along the gorge floor
- The chasm
- Eldgjá is about 600 m wide and 150 m deep, with an 8 km stretch of it accessible
- The arch
- A natural bridge spanned the falls until the early 1990s, when it collapsed from natural causes
- Getting in
- The main Eldgjá car park sits beyond a river ford; parking south of the river instead and crossing Strangakvísl on the hiking bridge avoids the ford entirely
Most published photographs of this waterfall show a stone arch across it that has not existed for thirty years, so reference images found online are actively misleading about the composition available today. The ford is the other thing worth knowing in advance — it decides whether this is reachable in the vehicle you actually have, and the footbridge route means it does not have to.
SourcesÓfærufoss — Wikipedia, Eldgjá — Vatnajökull National Park
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (63.964, -18.618). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- June: sun up 02:48–23:42 (20.9 h). Evening golden hour 21:49–23:42, light coming from the NNW.
- Winter
- December: only 4.3 h of daylight (11:00–15:19), but the sun never climbs above 2.8° — 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
Ófærufoss is a waterfall in Westfjords & Remote, Iceland, approximately 278 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Ófærufoss 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.
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.
Ófærufoss is best visited during Summer. Outside that window, expect limited access, weather closures, or significantly different photographic conditions.