Selfoss Waterfall
Selfoss Waterfall is a waterfall in North Iceland, Iceland — about 535 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
Selfoss is a waterfall on the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum in the Northeastern Region of Iceland
As a photography stop, Selfoss Waterfall is a waterfall in North Iceland, roughly 535 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.
Selfoss Waterfall is one waypoint of many — you can load the Iceland waterfalls GPS map before you leave signal.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
An 11 m fall on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum, a few hundred metres upstream of Dettifoss and reached on the same walk. Not to be confused with the town of the same name in the south.
- Height
- 11 m
- River
- Jökulsá á Fjöllum, from the Vatnajökull glacier
- Relative to Dettifoss
- Dettifoss lies a few hundred metres downstream
- Setting
- The gorge is part of Jökulsárgljúfur National Park
- Flow
- Varies with season, weather and volcanic activity
Sharing a river and a car park with Dettifoss makes this a second subject on a single stop rather than a separate trip — and at 11 m against Dettifoss’s 44 m it is wide and low rather than a plunge, so it wants a different frame from the falls a few minutes downstream. The name collides with the southern town, which is worth checking when navigating.
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (65.799, -16.384). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 23.5 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 0.9° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.1 h of daylight (11:28–14:34), but the sun never climbs above 0.9° — 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
Selfoss Waterfall is a waterfall in North Iceland, Iceland, approximately 535 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Selfoss Waterfall 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.
Selfoss Waterfall is best visited during Summer. Outside that window, expect limited access, weather closures, or significantly different photographic conditions.