Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

Seljalandsfoss drops 60 meters from the cliffs that once formed Iceland's coastline before the shoreline receded south, and a path circles fully behind the falling curtain of water, one of the few Icelandic waterfalls that allows this. The route behind the falls is a short scramble over wet, uneven rock, and standing behind the water gives a 360-degree view out through the spray toward the surrounding lowlands. On sunny evenings the low sun shines directly through the falling water from the west, and photographers gather along the path both for the backlit falls and, closer to midnight in summer, for the midnight sun over the flat coastal plain. A five-minute walk further along the cliff base leads to Gljúfrabúi, a smaller waterfall hidden inside a narrow canyon that requires wading a short distance to view fully. A basic visit to Seljalandsfoss alone takes about 45 minutes to an hour; adding Gljúfrabúi brings it to closer to 90 minutes. The site sits directly beside the Ring Road on the South Coast route, so it draws a steady flow of visitors throughout the day, with the path behind the falls at its busiest from late morning to mid-afternoon. In winter, spray freezes on the rock path, and the route behind the falls is often closed for safety.