Bejarfoss Waterfall

The interest here is how close the town stands to the fall. The water comes off a rock wall directly behind the last row of houses in Ólafsvík, and the walk to it starts by the church rather than at a lay-by on a main road.

There are two ways to see it. The left-hand approach is steep and brings you in under the fall, near enough to feel the spray on a windy day. The other is to cross the river on stepping stones, which trades the close-up for the full height of the drop in one frame. Take both if you have the time.

Winter changes it completely: the fall runs mostly as ice. Few people come, and it never gets the queues of the bigger falls elsewhere in Iceland.

• No toilets. There are none at the waterfall.
• The left-hand approach is steep. It gets you closest to the fall and is the harder of the two routes.
• Church services. The church is the usual place to leave the car, so avoid arriving during mass.
• Winter. The fall is largely ice rather than falling water.

The last stretch is on foot. From the centre of Ólafsvík the painted rainbow road runs up to the church, a triangular building at the back of town, with the football pitch on the right. Cars are left by the church, and the track starts across the road from it. From there the walk to the foot of the fall is short, with a slight incline. A branch to the left climbs steeply to a closer view.

Best: winter, when the fall is largely ice, or a summer evening, when daylight lasts well past dinner.

Avoid: making a special trip for it — this is a stop, not a destination.

Summer gives dry footing and a short easy walk. Winter gives the frozen face, which is the stronger picture of the two. The site stays quiet either way, while the better-known falls around West Iceland fill up.