Skógafoss

Walk towards Skógafoss on a sunny day and at some point you'll realise you're standing inside a rainbow. The spray drifts across the whole flat meadow below the falls, and the closer you get the louder, wetter and more ridiculous it becomes. Most people stop about thirty metres out, laughing, with water running off their hoods.

Skógafoss (often searched as Skogafoss) is one of the biggest waterfalls in South Iceland: a single, wide sheet of water falling about 60 metres from what used to be the coastline, before the land crept seaward. It sits right next to Route 1 at the little settlement of Skógar, and unlike a lot of waterfalls you can walk straight up to its base on flat ground. No scrambling. Just spray.

Tours that visit Skógafoss

Katla Ice Cave & South Coast Tour from Reykjavík

12 hours · From Reykjavík

4.5(343)

From 35.990 ISK

top pick

South Coast Waterfalls, Glacier & Black Sand Beach Tour

10 hours · From Reykjavík

4.8(3,403)

From 15.990 ISK

Glaciers & Waterfalls / South Coast and Glacier Hiking

13 hours and 30 minutes · From Reykjavík

4.8(373)

From 24.990 ISK

South Coast Small Group Tour: Waterfalls, Glacier & Black Sand Beach

10 hours · From Reykjavík

4.8(342)

From 17.990 ISK

popular

Glacier Lagoon (Jökulsárlón) & South Iceland Tour

14 hours · From Reykjavík

4.7(769)

From 27.990 ISK

Glacier Lagoon (Jökulsárlón) & South Coast Tour with boat ride

14 hours · From Reykjavík

4.7(461)

From 34.690 ISK

What to see at Skógafoss

Start at the bottom. The river spreads out into a gravel flat where you can get as close as you dare, and the rainbow shows up almost any time the sun is out behind you. Then climb. A steel staircase runs up the right-hand side of the falls to a viewing platform at the top, a few hundred steps and about ten or fifteen minutes of steady puffing. From up there you look straight down the drop and out across the flat sands to the sea.

The top of the stairs is also where the path along the Skógá river begins. It follows the river upstream past waterfall after waterfall, and it's the first stretch of the Fimmvörðuháls trail, a long day's hike of about 25 km that climbs between Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull glaciers and drops down into Þórsmörk. You don't need to go anywhere near that far. Twenty or thirty minutes along the river shows you a string of falls most visitors never see.

There's a story, too. Local legend says the settler Þrasi hid a chest of gold in a cave behind Skógafoss. Men later tried to drag it out, the handle ring came off in their hands, and the chest sank for good. That ring is said to have ended up on the church door and is now kept at the Skógar Museum, a short walk from the falls, with its turf houses and old farm tools. Worth an hour if the weather turns.

How to get to Skógafoss from Reykjavík

Skógafoss is about 150 km from Reykjavík, roughly two hours' drive east on Route 1, and around half an hour past Seljalandsfoss. There is a large car park at the foot of the falls with toilets and a couple of places to eat nearby; parking is paid, charged per car through the parking app. Budget 30 minutes if you just want the view from the bottom, an hour if you're climbing the stairs or walking along the river.

Pro tip: most people head straight for the stairs, but the best photo of Skógafoss is from the gravel flat to the left of the river, low down, with the whole face of the falls in frame and a person for scale. And pack a dry layer in the car. The spray soaks you faster than rain.

Best time to visit Skógafoss

Summer is green, with long evenings and the best chance of that rainbow. Winter is quieter and moody, with ice building up around the edges, but the stairs and the path at the top can be icy and treacherous, so microspikes help and caution helps more. The midday rush comes from the tour buses, so early morning or evening is your window for a calm view. In winter, on a clear dark night, the open ground below the falls is also a decent place to watch for northern lights, well away from any town glow.

Skógafoss is one of the classic stops on the South Coast, and almost every South Coast day tour from Reykjavík includes it, whether it's a small-group trip, a tour with a glacier hike, or a long day out to the Katla ice cave or Jökulsárlón. Tours that include Skógafoss are below.