Budararfoss Waterfall

Budararfoss sits above Reyðarfjörður, and the climb matters as much as the falls. The trail leaves from behind the wartime museum, follows the river through forest, crosses streams and passes through lupines. The town and the fjord open up behind the trail as it rises, so the best photographs are taken on the way up rather than at the water.

There are two ways to the top. The gravel road works, but it is the plainer walk. The path behind the museum buildings starts off looking like a sheep track, turns to wood chips and climbs through the trees.

At the falls there is no path down to the water. Budararfoss drops into a gulch thick with moss and shrubs, and the base is reached only by climbing over large rocks.

• Two routes up: take the wood-chip path behind the museum buildings. The gravel road gets you there, but it is the dull way.
• Footwear: the rocks near the falls are mossy and wet. Wear boots with grip; trainers are not enough.
• Views: the town and the fjord are behind you on the climb. Take the photographs going up, not at the falls.
• With children: the walk itself suits families. The boulders at the base of the falls do not.

Drive to Reyðarfjörður and park at the wartime museum. The trail starts behind the building: look for the white brick house with a blue roof and windows off to the right, where a track leads away like a sheep path. It turns to wood chips and climbs beside the river through forest, crossing streams, then joins a gravel road. The turn to the falls is a single-track path on the left of that road. The last stretch to the base is a scramble over large rocks.

Better: summer, when the lupines along the lower part of the trail are in flower.

Avoid: wet weather. The boulders at the base of the falls are mossy and slippery when wet.

Budararfoss is off the main tourist circuit, so the trail stays quiet in high season as well. The climb is worth doing whether or not you go down into the gulch: the fjord and the town are in view for most of it.