Seljalandsfoss

Seljalandsfoss drops 60 m off the cliff line that used to be Iceland's south coast before the sea retreated. What makes it unusual is the little cave behind the curtain of water and a slippery path that lets you walk right through it, so on a good afternoon you can stand behind the falls and photograph the coast through the wall of moving water. It sits directly on the Ring Road 30 minutes west of Skogafoss, and the two are almost always visited together.

The visit is short and wet. From the car park a paved path leads to the front, then a rougher stone stair climbs the north side, curls behind the falls and drops down the south side. In summer this is a 20-minute loop; in winter the back path ices over and is closed for safety. Do not underestimate the spray — waterproofs are essential, and phones need drybag protection. A few minutes north along the cliff is the smaller, hidden Gljufrabui waterfall, which you enter by wading up a narrow slot canyon.

Come at sunset in July when the light passes through the falls from the west; it is one of the most photographed moments in Iceland. Parking is now ISK900 via the parka.is machine or app. The food truck sells fish and chips and Icelandic hot dogs. Combine with Skogafoss and Reynisfjara for a classic south-coast day from Reykjavik. If you want to stay overnight, Hotel Anna and Guesthouse Nonni are 5 km east.

Getting here is a straight line and almost impossible to mistake. From Reykjavik it is roughly 120 km east on Route 1 through Hveragerdi, Selfoss, Hella and Hvolsvollur, about two hours without stops, and the falls announce themselves from three kilometres away as a white thread on the cliff to your left. The turn is onto Route 249, Thorsmerkurvegur, and the car park is 200 m in on the right. From Vik it is 60 km and about 45 minutes west; from Skogafoss 30 km and 25 minutes. Straeto route 51, the Reykjavik-Hofn service, passes the junction and will stop on request, but it runs only a couple of departures a day and the gap before a return bus is measured in hours — usable only if you are camping at Hamragardar next door. Drive, or take a scheduled south-coast day tour. Do not turn up the F249 track beyond the car park in a normal rental: the rivers are unbridged and your insurance is void the moment you enter.

The waterfall itself costs nothing and has no ticket booth, no barrier and no closing time; the only charge is ISK900 per car for parking, paid by registration plate at the machine beside the service building or in the parka.is app. That ticket covers the day, so you can drive to Skogafoss, come back for the late light and not pay twice — worth knowing if you are chasing a midnight-sun photograph. Motorhomes and larger vehicles are charged more at the same machine. Toilets sit in the car park building; the food truck runs May to September and a hot dog with a coffee comes in well under ISK 2,000, while fish and chips is the larger spend. A guided south-coast day tour from Reykjavik that packages this stop with Skogafoss, Solheimajokull and Reynisfjara typically runs ISK 13,000-20,000 per adult, and a super-jeep run into Thorsmork several times that. If there are two of you with a rental, self-driving wins on both cost and timing.

Timing decides whether this feels like a natural wonder or a car park with a waterfall attached. Coaches from Reykjavik land between 10:00 and 16:00, and in July the stone stair behind the falls becomes a single-file queue in both directions. Arrive before 09:00 or after 19:00 and you will often have the cave to yourself; in June and July the sun does not set until around 23:00, and the last two hours of light coming straight through the water from the west are the reason photographers keep returning. May and September are the sweet spot — the back path is open, the crowds are thinner and the grass is dry enough to sit on. November to March the loop is roped off when the rock glazes over, an ice cone builds at the base, and the front view is still spectacular but that is all you get. Winter storms shut Route 1 entirely; check road.is before you commit to the drive.

Families do fine as far as the front viewpoint: the path from the car park is flat, paved and about four minutes' walk, and small children can watch the falls without going near the wet rock. The loop behind the water is another matter — wet basalt steps, no handrail on parts of the descent and a constant blast of spray, so it is a poor idea with a toddler on your hip or with anyone unsteady on their feet. Wheelchair users and pushchairs can reach the frontal viewing area on packed gravel in dry weather but cannot do the loop. Gljufrabui demands ankle-deep wading up the stream in the slot canyon; in trainers, skip it and stay on the cliff path. If you have only an hour before you need to be back on the road, do the front, the loop and go — that is 25 minutes and loses nothing essential.

Almost nobody comes here alone, and the geography rewards folding several stops into one half-day. Gljufrabui is a 300 m walk north along the cliff past the Hamragardar picnic ground, five minutes on the flat. Skogafoss is 25 minutes east, with the Skogar folk museum beside it and the far quieter Kvernufoss a 15-minute walk behind the museum grounds. The abandoned mountainside pool at Seljavallalaug is a further 20 minutes' drive plus a 15-minute walk up the valley. South of the Ring Road, Landeyjahofn harbour is about 20 km away and the Herjolfur ferry crosses to Vestmannaeyjar in around 35 minutes. West, at Hvolsvollur 25 km back toward Reykjavik, the Lava Centre puts the volcano you are standing beneath into context for a ticketed few thousand ISK. Pick two of these, not five, or the day becomes a driving exercise.

The honest reckoning: the walk behind the water lasts about thirty seconds, the cave is smaller than every photograph suggests, and you will come out wet through whatever you are wearing. Tripods are impractical in there and unwelcome when a queue is stacked behind you. The ISK900 parking charge still irritates people who remember the site being free, but it pays for the toilets and the path maintenance and it is not going away. The car park is brutally exposed — hold your door in the wind, because torn hinges are the single most common south-coast rental claim. Do not expect solitude at any hour between June and August; this is one of the busiest roadside stops in the country. And do not expect a hike: there is no long trail here, no visitor centre and no exhibition. It is a fifteen-minute wonder done properly, then you drive on.

Hours & entry

Free walkway; parking ISK900

Open 24/7 year-round · Back-of-falls path closes in winter ice · Food truck 10:00-19:00 May-Sep

What to see

• Path behind the falls — Loop trail on the north side, 5 minutes uphill from car park
• Gljufrabui hidden waterfall — 300 m north along the cliff, enter via slot canyon
• Sunset viewpoint — Flat grass 50 m south of the falls, into the west

Tips from the ground

• Bring a full waterproof and a drybag for the camera — the spray is heavy
• Sunset in June-July is at 11pm and is the best light of the year
• Walk 300 m north to Gljufrabui; most tour buses skip it