Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss is the waterfall you walk behind, sixty metres off the old sea cliff beside Route 1 an hour and a half from Reykjavík, with Gljúfrabúi hidden in a slot canyon five minutes north. Thirty minutes for the loop, an hour with the canyon, and the low evening sun through the water.
Seljalandsfoss in a nutshell
Seljalandsfoss: what to expect
The numbers here are drawn from 72,000+ planned stops across Iceland on Stippl.
Thirty minutes at Seljalandsfoss walks the loop, and an hour finds the better fall next door. The Seljalandsá drops clear of the rock face and leaves a ledge that runs all the way behind the curtain when the ice allows, Gljúfrabúi hides five minutes north inside a slot canyon reached by wading a shallow stream, the fall faces west so the evening light comes through the water from behind, the winter freezes the edges into columns, the F249 to Þórsmörk turns off just east for four-by-fours and mountain buses, and the aurora over a lit waterfall is the coast's postcard. 65.56% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through.
Seljalandsfoss is the first great waterfall out of Reykjavík, and the one people photograph for the trip. Seljalandsfoss holds 1.83% of every Icelandic stop planned on Stippl, ahead of Geysir, it sits early in almost every itinerary because it is the first thing visible from Route 1 on the south-coast drive, and 67.0% of Seljalandsfoss trips stay inside Iceland, the classic drive on a single-country holiday.
Walk the loop first, waterproof the camera before you do, find Gljúfrabúi before the coaches, and come back in the evening for the light through the water if the bed is nearby. Skip the walk-behind when the ledge is shut, since polished wet rock on a ledge closes for a reason, and skip the dry-clothes assumption, because the spray behind the fall is total.
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First-timers on the south coast
The opening act of the classic drive and the one photograph people come home with, at 1.83% of Icelandic stops on Stippl.
Families
Flat gravel to the base, the loop optional, and a slot canyon next door that children treat as an adventure with wet feet.
Photographers at low sun
The fall faces west, so the late light comes through the water from behind, and the evening car park is full for exactly that.
Pass-through drivers
65.56% of Stippl stops here are no night at all, the first stop of the south-coast day out of the capital.
Crowd-averse walkers
Gljúfrabúi five minutes north is a fall inside a rock crack that most people walk past, near-private on the busiest day.
Iceland-only travellers
67.0% of Seljalandsfoss trips on Stippl stay inside Iceland, the classic drive on a single-country holiday.
Maybe not for you: anyone who wants to stay dry, because the spray behind the fall is comprehensive and the camera dies without a bag; and winter visitors expecting the walk-behind, which is usually shut from November through early spring because the ledge ices.
The best time to visit Seljalandsfoss
Summer
June to August
The loop open, the evening light through the water until late, the coaches from ten and August the busiest month on Stippl.
The shoulders
April, May, September and October
The ledge usually open, the crowds thinner, the aurora returning over the fall in September and the canyon stream low enough for dry-ish feet.
Winter
November to March
The edges frozen into columns and the whole face silvered, the walk-behind closed on most days and spikes needed on the path before the car park ices.
Þórsmörk season
Late June to September
The F249 open for four-by-fours and the mountain buses into the valley behind the volcanoes, from the turn just east of the fall.
- 65.56% of stops at Seljalandsfoss on Stippl are a pass-through. Thirty minutes for the loop and an hour with Gljúfrabúi, and Skógafoss is thirty minutes further along the same road.
- August is the busiest month on Stippl, and the evening car park is full for the light. The fall faces west, so the late sun comes through the water and the photographers come back for it.
- Only 11.6% of Seljalandsfoss plans on Stippl are made inside a fortnight. The fall needs nothing booked, and the farm-belt beds around it are booked with the coast.
- The walk-behind closes in ice. Commonly November through early spring, decided on the day rather than on a calendar, so the signage is checked rather than a schedule.
- Parking is app-paid, and the amount moves. The fee has changed more than once in a year, so the higher figure is budgeted and paid in the app on arrival.
- Gljúfrabúi means wet feet. Stepping stones in a stream and a slot that floods in heavy rain, so the canyon is skipped on a wet day and taken on a dry one.
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Things to do at Seljalandsfoss
The walk behind the curtain
The loop that puts you between the rock and the water, looking out through the fall at the plain, when the ice allows.
Gljúfrabúi
The hidden fall in its slot canyon five minutes north, reached by wading a shallow stream through a crack in the rock, with a fraction of the people.
Low sun through the water
The fall faces west, so the evening light comes through it from behind, and the car park fills for the hour.
The winter ice
The edges freezing into columns and the whole face silvering, from the front, with the loop closed.
The Þórsmörk turn
The F249 highland road starting just east, for four-by-fours and mountain buses only, into the valley behind the volcanoes.
The aurora over the fall
A lit waterfall under a green sky, the south coast's postcard, for anyone sleeping in the farm belt on a clear night.
The areas of Seljalandsfoss
The base and the ring path
The fall
The car park, the toilets and the loop behind the curtain, where every visit starts and the spray reaches every lens. For everyone.
The walk-behind when open, but the spray is total and the coaches arrive from ten.
Gljúfrabúi canyon
The slot
The hidden fall five minutes north on foot, inside a crack in the cliff reached over stepping stones, near-private on the busiest day. For the crowd-averse.
A fall inside a rock crack with almost nobody, and wet feet to reach it.
The farm belt on Route 1
The beds
Guesthouses and cottages under Eyjafjallajökull within ten minutes either way along the road, the local supply for the aurora night and the evening light. For sleepers.
Beds under the volcano within ten minutes, though dinner is the guesthouse's or a drive.
The Þórsmörk road
The highland turn
The F249 turning off just east of the fall, for four-by-fours and the mountain buses into Þórsmörk, with river crossings from the first kilometre. For the equipped.
The valley behind the volcanoes, but a four-by-four or a bus and nothing else.
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Where to stay at Seljalandsfoss
The farm belt on Route 1 is the local supply, with guesthouses and cottages under Eyjafjallajökull within ten minutes either way, for anyone who wants the evening light or the aurora over the fall, and most people sleep on in Vík. 65.56% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through, the first stop of the coast rather than its bed.
The base and the ring path
~1,000 ISK
No beds at the fall; the farm belt either side is the nearest, €110 to €220 a night.
Gljúfrabúi canyon
included
The campsite at the canyon mouth in summer, about €15 a person a night.
The farm belt on Route 1
€110–220
Guesthouses and cottages under the volcano, €110 to €220 a night by season.
The Þórsmörk road
The mountain huts in the valley at the road's end, €60 to €90 a bunk.
What to eat at Seljalandsfoss
Lamb soup, the road-trip standard
Farm ice cream
The packed lunch, the honest answer here
The warm-up after the spray
Slow lamb, the evening plate
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Seljalandsfoss customs and what not to do
The paths are the boundary
The loop is engineered and the ground either side is not, and the moss does not recover.
Waterproof everything
The spray behind the fall is total, the camera goes in a bag, and cameras die there regularly.
Gljúfrabúi asks for quiet
A small canyon amplifies everything, and the pleasure there is the sound of the water alone.
The fall is the old coastline
The same escarpment that carries Skógafoss thirty minutes east, and the sea was once at its foot.
The ledge closes locally
The decision to shut the walk-behind is made on the day by the people who know the ice, and the signage is the schedule.
Evenings belong to the light
The fall faces west, the locals know the hour, and the car park fills with tripods rather than coaches.
Do
- Walk the loop first, when it is open
- Bag the camera before going behind the water
- Find Gljúfrabúi before the coaches
- Come back for the evening light through the fall
- Pay the parking in the app on arrival
Don't
- Walk behind the fall when the ledge is shut
- Step off the engineered path
- Enter Gljúfrabúi in heavy rain
- Take the F249 without a four-by-four
- Expect to stay dry
What a Seljalandsfoss visit costs
The stop
€7
Parking; both falls are free.
With a night nearby
€130–240
A farm-belt guesthouse and both falls at dawn.
The south-coast day
€220+
This, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara and a Vík bed.
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Fun facts about Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss is the only major Icelandic waterfall with a path all the way behind it. The river drops clear of the rock and leaves a ledge, and the loop uses it.
Gljúfrabúi beside Seljalandsfoss hides in a canyon so narrow it is invisible from the road. Which is why it stays quiet, and why most people walk past the crack.
Seljalandsfoss drops off Iceland's old coastline. The same escarpment that carries Skógafoss thirty minutes east, with the sea once at its foot.
The F249 to Þórsmörk turns off beside Seljalandsfoss. The road into the valley between Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull, with river crossings from the first kilometre.
Seljalandsfoss is the twelfth largest stop in Iceland on Stippl. Ahead of Geysir, at 1.83% of every Icelandic stop planned there.
65.56% of stops at Seljalandsfoss on Stippl are a pass-through. The first great sight out of the capital, seen on the way to the bed rather than slept beside.
Local tips for Seljalandsfoss
Parking is app-paid
The amount is reported three ways for the same year depending on who is writing, so the higher figure is budgeted and paid in the app on arrival.
It sits on Route 1
The fall is visible from the road with no detour and no gravel, so the stop is a turn rather than a plan.
The ledge is slick and closes
Polished wet rock on a ledge, which is why it shuts in ice, and when it is shut it is shut for a reason.
Winter closure is normal
Commonly November through early spring, decided on the day, so the signage is checked rather than a schedule.
Spray ices the path first
Spikes are sensible from October on the loop, because the spray freezes on the path weeks before the ice reaches the tarmac of the car park.
A pass-through, first stop
65.56% of Stippl stops here are no night at all and only 11.6% of plans are made inside a fortnight, because the coast is planned as a chain.
Seljalandsfoss questions, answered
Thirty minutes for the fall and an hour with Gljúfrabúi, which is the version worth having. 65.56% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through, the first stop of the south-coast day out of Reykjavík, with Skógafoss thirty minutes on and the bed in Vík.
Yes, when the loop is open. It commonly closes from November through early spring because the ledge ices, the decision is made locally on the day rather than on a calendar, and the signage at the car park is the only schedule; in summer the loop runs all day and the spray is the only obstacle.
Entry is free at both falls. Parking is app-paid and the amount is reported three different ways for the same year, so budget the higher figure and pay on arrival, and only 11.6% of Seljalandsfoss plans on Stippl are made inside a fortnight, so the stop is on the route long before the app is.
The hidden fall five minutes north, inside a slot canyon reached by wading a shallow stream through a crack in the rock, with a fraction of the people. Almost everyone who finds it says it is the better of the two, and it floods in heavy rain, so it is taken on a dry day with wet feet expected.
Thoroughly. The spray behind the fall is total, the camera goes in a waterproof bag and the jacket fails eventually, so the loop is walked with the dry clothes in the car. Put the fall into Stippl as the first morning stop, then ask people who did it in subreddits like r/VisitingIceland whether the evening light was worth coming back for.
Both, since they are thirty minutes apart and four in five of the people who log one on Stippl log the other, and 67.0% of Seljalandsfoss trips stay inside Iceland on the classic drive. This one you walk behind and that one you stand under, and the morning does both.
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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