Bruarfoss is a waterfall in Bláskógabyggð, in southern Iceland. It is known for the colour of its water: a bright blue that stays clear through every season. The fall is wide and low, a run of small cascades stepping through a basalt channel rather than a single high drop. It sits at the end of a gravel track off the main road, with a paid car park about 350 metres away. People come for the colour, and for photographs of it.
Bruarfoss Waterfall
Local name: Brúarfoss
Not one drop but a run of small cascades — and the water going through them is bright blue, not glacial grey.
- Accessibility
- No wheelchair-accessible parking and no wheelchair-accessible entrance.
- Parking
- Paid car park about 350 m from the falls, fine gravel surface; cards accepted. A second car park lies about 700 m away.
- Difficulty
- About 350 m on foot from the car park, roughly five minutes. The longer route from the main road is muddy and rocky in places and needs proper boots.
- Transport
- No public transport: no bus stop within 5 km of the falls.
- Hours
- Open 24 hours, every day.
What makes it special
The water is the reason to come. At Bruarfoss it runs bright blue, close to turquoise, and it holds that colour in January as much as in July. Most glacier-fed Icelandic rivers carry rock flour and look grey or milky. This one runs clear, and the blue is in the water itself.
The fall does not look like the big names. It is not a single curtain but a series of small cascades, spilling through fissures in the basalt and gathering into a narrow pool. Wide and low rather than tall and loud. A visitor who came in January put it plainly: less dramatic than Iceland's larger waterfalls, more delicate and picturesque than powerful, and still worth the trip. Against the headline falls this is a change of scale, not a repeat of them.
Good to know
- No facilities — there are no toilets and no drinking water at the falls.
- Wear waterproof boots — the path is muddy and rocky in stretches, and it is not gravel the whole way.
- Navigation is fiddly — one visitor could not enter the location in a rental car's satnav, navigated by coordinates and still took a wrong turn.
- It gets crowded — one visitor found the falls packed with tourists in January, and another reported crowds in late July.
Getting there
No bus runs to Bruarfoss. There is no stop within five kilometres, and the approach is by car. From the main road it is roughly three kilometres of gravel track to the car park. The car park sits about 350 metres from the falls, and one visitor timed that last stretch at five minutes on foot. A second route starts further south on the main road and comes in on a longer trail, muddy and rocky in places.
Best time to visit
Better: winter, if insects bother you. The water keeps its blue in January, and the midges that hang over the pool in summer are gone.
Avoid: counting on a quiet visit. One visitor found the falls packed with tourists in January; another, in late July, said simply that it can be crowded.
The colour is the draw, and it does not run on a season. No month here empties the car park.
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Frequently asked questions
Why is the water at Bruarfoss blue?
The river here runs clear rather than glacier-milky, so the water reads as bright turquoise over the pale rock of the channel. The colour holds through winter — one visitor who came in January described it as almost unreal against the landscape.How does it compare with Iceland's bigger waterfalls?
It is smaller in scale. Instead of one high drop, Bruarfoss is a series of small cascades. A visitor who saw it in January called it more delicate and picturesque than powerful, and less dramatic than Iceland's larger falls.Is there more than one way to reach the falls?
Yes. The short walk starts at the car park about 350 metres away. A longer trail starts from the main road further south. It is muddy and rocky in places, and one visitor who walked it recommends hiking boots and waterproof gear.Is Bruarfoss ever quiet?
Not reliably. One visitor found the falls packed with tourists in January, and another reported crowds in late July. Winter does not guarantee the peaceful visit people expect of it.Are there toilets at the falls?
No. There are no toilets and no drinking water at Bruarfoss. Information boards stand close to the falls and along the approach.