Urriðafoss
Urriðafoss is a waterfall in Golden Circle & Nearby, Iceland — about 77 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). 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
Urriðafoss is a waterfall located in the river Þjórsá in southwest Iceland
As a photography stop, Urriðafoss is a waterfall in Golden Circle & Nearby, roughly 77 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). 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.
Planning more than one stop? Open all 43 waterfall locations to put Urriðafoss on the same offline layer as everything nearby.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
The highest average water flow of any waterfall in Iceland at 360 m³/s, and the second highest in Europe after the Rheinfall. Landsvirkjun has proposed a power station here, and the waterfall is expected to disappear if it is built.
- Flow
- 360 m³/s — the highest average flow of any waterfall in Iceland
- In Europe
- Second only to the Rheinfall
- River
- The Þjórsá, southwest Iceland
- Proposed power station
- Landsvirkjun plans a station of about 125 MW generating 930 GWh a year; the waterfall is expected to disappear if it is built, and local residents are protesting
Volume rather than height is the subject here — it is not a tall fall, and a frame built around the drop will underplay it while one built around the mass of moving water will not. The proposed station is the other reason to treat this as a priority rather than a someday: the published expectation is that the waterfall does not survive it. That plan may change, so check its status rather than treating this note as current.
SourcesUrriðafoss — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (63.924, -20.678). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- June: sun up 02:57–23:49 (20.9 h). Evening golden hour 21:57–23:49, light coming from the NNW.
- Winter
- December: only 4.3 h of daylight (11:08–15:28), 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
Urriðafoss is a waterfall in Golden Circle & Nearby, Iceland, approximately 77 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Urriðafoss 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/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.
Yes — Urriðafoss can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.