How to Plan an International Trip: Travel Tales and Tips : Iceland Trip Report, Day 3: Waterfalls, Waterfalls and ...More Waterfalls

DAY 3 Sunday Sep 1, 2019:

Today was a day of WATERFALLS, WATERFALLS and .... more WATERFALLS...capped by a nice glacier!

Pays to know Foss= Waterfalls; jökull= Glacier in Icelandic! Makes the names easier to get.

We checked out leaving the key as instructed. We backtracked to cover Urriðafoss we had missed the previous day.

Urriðafoss:

Urriðafoss is a waterfall in Þjórsá River. Þjórsá is Iceland's longest river, 230 km long, and Urriðafoss is the most voluminous waterfall in the country. This mighty river drops down (360 m3/sec) by the edge of Þjórsárhraun lava field in beautiful and serene surroundings.

Þjórsárhraun lava field is the result of the greatest lava flow on earth since the Ice Age.

The sign for this falls is small and the parking lot is hidden from view as we drive by the road; we did not notice it until we had passed the turn off. We knew we had overshot, we turned back, could see the mist from it. Beautiful falls. We saw some fishermen down below... looked exciting!!

We drove on... with glacier views

and some Santa photo ops...

Gluggafoss:

We turned back to Route 1 and Gluggafoss was our next stop. 44-meters tall waterfall; "gluggar" means windows. The river has created holes and tunnels in the soft palagonite bedrock, through which the water flows.

The upper waterfall plunges some 44 meters and broadens up in the lower falls and plunges further some 8.5 meters. It is possible to walk behind the lower waterfall. We walked up and had great views

Seljalandsfoss:

The next stop was the Seljalandsfoss. We can see the falls from the parking lot. 700 ISK to buy the parking ticket to be displayed on the windshield. [ some visitors did not buy the ticket!! some parked at the free lot near Gljufrabui, saw that 1^st and walked over here!]

We walked the short distance from the parking lot to the bottom of the falls. Continued around the path behind the fall counterclockwise The cascade plummets from 63 meters high straight into the pond.

The water falls dramatically into a pool from a cliff ledge that extends out past the base of the wall. This creates a wide pathway where you can hike behind the falls, The splashing water drizzles, and creates a glistering mist against the sun when we walk in the cave behind the waterfall.

Quite beautiful though at the back of the falls and watch the sheer curtain of water....

Pretty slippery and the part to get to the staircase on the left required total scrambling. Need to be athletic/ have good balance!

Gljufrabui waterfall:

After enjoying Seljalandsfoss we kept walking toward the north, we saw a few streams running down from the same enormous cliff. Walked for 10 minutes, arrived at the entrance of Gljufrabui waterfall. The name means canyon dweller. Going inside the cave is tricky.

We then drove on. Nice pastoral scenes.

Got lost a bit on a gravel road; birds racing with our car was fun... they were diving and flying right in front...

Saw some falls

Glaciers too..

Skogafoss:

Reached Skogafoss. one of the largest waterfalls in Iceland. It has a cascade of 15 meters (49 feet) in width and 62 meters (100 ft) in height.

The spectacular sight was more amazing with a rainbow in front of the cascade in the bright afternoon sun.

I sat on a bench in front of the falls while son climbed the 500 steep steps to get the view from the top.

We then parked at nearby Skogar Museum,

looked at the outdoor turf roof houses

Kvernufoss:

We went right behind the buildings on the hiking path to Kvernufoss.

Climbed over the step ladder to cross a fence,, and followed the river... this is private property. It was a pretty difficult scramble up rocks at one place... I did not want to climb down the same path, so sat near the river,

son went on, saw the falls and came back.

We drove on

Sólheimajökull:

Reached Solheim glacier. Sólheimajökull is a glacier tongue that is part of the glacier Mýrdalsjökull. [is a glacier falling from the Mýrdalsjökull glacier at a very slow pace. Step by small step icebergs fall from the glacier and break away from it into the small lake below and melt. In the process, the glacier tongue forms beautiful natural wonders like cracks, holes, ice-ravines, and ice caves. ]

About 8 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide (5 miles long and 1 mile wide), Sólheimajökull is an impressive feature. Due to the way it descends from Mýrdalsjökull, however, without a clear distinction between the two, it appears much bigger.

It's black/white because of minerals... son walked to the end while I sat it out on a rock in front of the glacier.

Mýrdalsjökull has many other outlet glaciers; overall, it is the fourth largest ice cap in Iceland. Beneath its thick surface is one of the country’s most infamous volcanoes, Katla. The nearby Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010 causing widespread havoc at European airports. Throughout history, eruptions in Eyjafjallajökull mean that Katla will also erupt, and so the volcano is due to go off soon. However, volcanoes and all seismic activity in Iceland is highly monitored, meaning that it is perfectly safe to travel around the area and even take an ice cave tour in the glacier above.