Hjálparfoss

Hjálparfoss is a double waterfall in the old lava fields north of the Hekla volcano, where the river Fossá fans out and drops in two channels that meet again in one pool. A curtain of hexagonal basalt columns, twisted and stacked by an old lava flow, wraps the basin. The name means ‘the help falls’ — a green, sheltered spot at the edge of the highland deserts where travellers long stopped to rest. It is easy to reach and rarely crowded.