Gullfoss
Gullfoss is the Hvítá falling twice and turning sideways into a canyon, an eleven-metre step then a twenty-one-metre plunge, the climax of the Golden Circle ninety minutes from Reykjavík. Forty-five minutes for both viewing levels, free entry and free parking, and better in winter ice than in summer sun.
Gullfoss in a nutshell
Gullfoss: what to expect
What follows sits on 72,000+ stops planned in Iceland on Stippl.
Forty-five minutes at Gullfoss covers both platforms, and the whole visit is under an hour. The upper platform gives the classic wide view down the canyon in any weather, the lower path walks along the lip into the spray when the ice allows, Geysir sits ten minutes away with Strokkur erupting every few minutes, Sigríður's memorial stands above the falls for the woman who stopped the dam, the winter ice half-freezes the canyon for the least-crowded version, and the greenhouse lunch at Friðheimar serves tomato soup among the vines down the road. 60.21% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through.
Gullfoss is inseparable from Geysir, and the Golden Circle's climax for almost everyone. Nearly four in five Geysir trips on Stippl carry Gullfoss, the highest conditional share between any two Icelandic destinations, 95.7% of those who record any stay of the stays anyone records here are a single night, the highest one-night share in the country, and 69.3% of Gullfoss trips stay inside Iceland, the default first day of a single-country holiday.
Take the upper platform first for the wide shot, the lower path for the spray if it is open, and Geysir before or after as one stop, with the greenhouse lunch booked ahead. Skip the hours between ten and four in summer if solitude matters, since the Circle's coaches stack up then, and skip the lower path when it is closed, because polished wet rock above a canyon is shut for a reason.
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First-timers, universally
The Golden Circle is the country's default first day and Gullfoss is its climax, with 69.3% of its Stippl trips staying inside Iceland.
Short-trip winter travellers
Reachable from Reykjavík in any month on a maintained, salted road, and better in ice than in sun.
Families
Free, short and paved to the upper platform, with a cafe at the door and the lower path as the option for the able-footed.
One-day Circle drivers
95.7% of those who record any stay of the stays recorded here on Stippl are a single night, the highest share in Iceland, because almost everyone drives back or on.
Photographers
The wide shot from above in any weather, the spray from the lip when open, and the half-frozen canyon in winter as the dramatic version.
Pass-through planners
60.21% of Stippl stops here are no night at all, the Circle's last stop before the drive back to the capital.
Maybe not for you: anyone chasing solitude between ten and four in summer, when the Circle's coaches stack up on the upper platform; and those expecting a walk, because the whole thing is under an hour and the lower path closes in ice.
The best time to visit Gullfoss
Summer
June to August
The river at its fullest off Langjökull in May and June, the lower path open, the coaches between ten and four, and August the busiest month on Stippl.
The shoulders
April, May, September and October
Thinner crowds, the lower path usually open, the aurora returning in September and the light low across the canyon.
Winter
November to March
Ice formations and a half-frozen canyon, no coaches, the upper platform open and the lower path shut, on a road that stays maintained when the ring does not.
Wind days
Any month
The plateau is exposed and the wind reaches road-closing strength, so vedur.is is checked with the same seriousness as anywhere on the ring.
- 60.21% of stops at Gullfoss on Stippl are a pass-through. Forty-five minutes for both platforms, then the drive back to Reykjavík or on toward the south coast.
- August is the busiest month on Stippl, and the coaches stack between ten and four. The early morning and the evening have the platform nearly empty, and the light is better at both.
- Only 11.4% of Gullfoss plans on Stippl are made inside a fortnight. Nothing here needs a booking, but the greenhouse lunch does, and the Circle is planned with the trip.
- The lower path closes in ice. Polished wet rock above a canyon, and when it is shut it is shut for a reason, so the winter visit is the upper platform.
- The river runs highest in May and June. The water comes off Langjökull, so the spring melt is the fullest version of the falls and the spray reaches the upper platform.
- The wind reaches road-closing strength. The plateau is exposed, Road 35 is maintained and salted but still capable of a whiteout, and vedur.is is checked before the plateau as seriously as anywhere on the ring.
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Things to do at Gullfoss
The upper platform
The classic wide view down the canyon from beside the visitor centre, paved, sheltered and open in any weather.
The lower path
The walk along the lip into the spray, with the scale of the drop and the canyon's throat, when the ice allows.
Geysir, ten minutes away
Strokkur erupting every few minutes, the other half of the same stop and free like this one.
Sigríður's memorial
The stone above the falls to the farmer's daughter who walked to Reykjavík to stop the dam and threatened to throw herself in.
The winter ice
The canyon half-frozen, the least-crowded and most dramatic version, from the upper platform only.
The greenhouse lunch
Tomato soup among the vines at Friðheimar down the road, unlimited and booked ahead, the Circle's best-known lunch.
The areas of Gullfoss
The upper platform
The classic view
The visitor centre, the cafe and the wide view down the canyon, paved and sheltered, where every visit starts and the coaches stop. For everyone, in any weather.
The classic shot and shelter, but the crowd between ten and four in summer.
The lower path
The lip
The walk along the edge into the spray, with the scale of the drop and the canyon's throat, closed when the ice makes the rock glassy. For the able-footed.
The spray and the scale, though it shuts in ice and the rock is always wet.
Geysir, ten minutes
The other half
The geothermal field and its hotel down Road 35, the same stop by every measure, with the eruption every few minutes. For everyone.
The other half of the stop, and the bed and the lunch if this one is full.
The Road 35 corridor
The beds between
The farms, the greenhouses and the Secret Lagoon between the two sights, with the beds and the lunches of the Circle strung along it. For sleepers.
The beds and the lunches between the sights, but a corridor rather than a village.
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Where to stay at Gullfoss
The hotel at Gullfoss and the hotel at Geysir are the two beds at the sights, both within ten minutes and both booked out in summer, with the farms and the greenhouse guesthouses along Road 35 taking the rest. 60.21% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through, which is the Circle day driving back to the capital.
The upper platform
The hotel a few minutes up the road from the falls, €140 to €260 a night.
The lower path
No beds at the lip; the hotel above is the nearest, €140 to €260 a night.
Geysir, ten minutes
The hotel at the geothermal field, €155 to €280 a night by season.
The Road 35 corridor
Farm guesthouses and the greenhouse rooms toward Flúðir, €110 to €230 a night.
What to eat at Gullfoss
Lamb soup with refills, the Circle's staple
Tomato soup, unlimited, in a greenhouse
Farm ice cream
The twisted doughnut of Icelandic coffee stops
Slow lamb, the evening version
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Gullfoss customs and what not to do
The ropes exist for a reason
People have died here: the canyon edge is unfenced beyond the marked paths and the rock is wet, so staying behind the line is the whole etiquette.
Sigríður's story is told
The conservation history is the site's own pride and the visitor centre keeps it plainly, at the memorial rather than in the shop.
Drones are restricted at peak
The crowds below the platform are the reason, and the signage sets the hours.
The name is the light
Golden falls, from the sun on the glacial silt in the spray, which is why the afternoon is the photographers' hour.
The Circle is one day
Þingvellir, Geysir and the falls in ninety minutes from the capital, with Kerið optional, and the falls as the climax rather than the start.
The greenhouse lunch is booked
Friðheimar's tomato soup among the vines takes reservations weeks ahead in summer, and the Circle's coaches all stop there.
Do
- Take the upper platform first, in any weather
- Walk the lower path when it is open
- Pair the falls with Geysir as one stop
- Book the greenhouse lunch ahead
- Check vedur.is for the wind before the plateau
Don't
- Step past the ropes at the lip
- Walk the lower path when it is closed
- Fly a drone at peak hours
- Come between ten and four in summer expecting quiet
- Skip the memorial on the way down
What a Gullfoss visit costs
The stop
€0
Entry, both car parks and both viewpoints, free.
The Circle day
€50–105
Fuel, Kerið's entry, Þingvellir's parking and lunch.
With the extras
€170+
Add the greenhouse lunch and the Secret Lagoon.
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Fun facts about Gullfoss
The river at Gullfoss turns ninety degrees into a canyon at the base. Which is why the water looks like it vanishes, and why the wide shot is taken from above.
Sigríður Tómasdóttir's campaign at Gullfoss founded Icelandic nature conservation. She walked to Reykjavík to fight the hydro concession and threatened to throw herself into the falls.
The name Gullfoss means golden falls, from the Hvítá's silt. The light catches the glacial silt in the spray, and the afternoon sun is when the name earns itself.
The water at Gullfoss comes off Langjökull, Iceland's second-largest glacier. Which is why May and June run highest, with the spring melt filling the canyon.
Gullfoss is the only major Golden Circle stop with no parking charge. Þingvellir, Kerið and the Blue Lagoon all charge, and the two car parks here do not.
95.7% of those who record any stay of the stays recorded at Gullfoss on Stippl are a single night. The highest one-night share in Iceland, because the falls are the Circle's last stop before the drive back.
Local tips for Gullfoss
Both car parks are free
Þingvellir, Skógafoss, Kerið and the lagoon all charge now, and Gullfoss does not, which is unusual enough to notice.
Road 35 is maintained
Paved the whole way and salted, the reason the winter Golden Circle tours run when the ring road does not.
The lower path ices and closes
Polished wet rock above a canyon, and when it is shut it is shut for a reason.
Behind the ropes at the lip
The drop is unfenced past the marked route and the spray keeps the rock slick all year.
The wind closes roads here
The plateau is exposed, so vedur.is is checked with the same seriousness as anywhere on the ring, and the salt does not stop a whiteout.
A pass-through, at the end
60.21% of Stippl stops here are no night at all and only 11.4% of plans are made inside a fortnight, because the Circle is planned with the whole trip.
Gullfoss questions, answered
Forty-five minutes covers both viewing levels comfortably, and the Circle's whole day is Þingvellir plus Geysir plus this, with Kerið optional. 60.21% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through, the last stop before the drive back to Reykjavík or on to the south coast.
No. Entry is free and so is parking at both lots, which now makes Gullfoss the cheapest stop on the Golden Circle, with Þingvellir and Kerið both charging. The visitor centre's soup and the greenhouse lunch down the road are where the money goes, and 69.3% of Gullfoss trips on Stippl stay inside Iceland.
Gullfoss for accessibility, drama and a cafe, ninety minutes from the capital on a paved road; Dettifoss for raw power and a gravel road that closes half the year. Most trips see Gullfoss, and 95.7% of those who record any stay of the stays recorded here on Stippl are a single night, because the Circle is the first day rather than the north.
Arguably: ice formations, a half-frozen canyon, no coaches, and the upper platform stays open on a road that is maintained when the ring is not. The lower path does not open in ice, so the winter version is the wide shot from above, which is the classic one anyway.
As one stop. Ten minutes apart, and nearly four in five of the people who log one on Stippl log the other, the tightest pairing in Iceland. Put the two into Stippl as one afternoon after Þingvellir, then ask people who have driven the Circle in subreddits like r/VisitingIceland which order they took it.
The farmer's daughter who walked to Reykjavík to fight the dam concession on the falls and threatened to throw herself into them, and whose campaign is the founding story of Icelandic nature conservation. The memorial above the site is hers, and the visitor centre tells the story plainly.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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