Hraunfossar Waterfalls

The water arrives from underneath. Hraunfossar has no river above it. Rivulets seep through the Hallmundarhraun lava field and break out of the bank along about 900 metres, falling over ledges of harder rock into the Hvítá. That lava came from an eruption under the Langjökull glacier.

From the platforms on the opposite bank the whole line of falls is visible at once, spread along a wall of black lava with birch scrub above it. In winter the contrast is at its sharpest: white ice, dark rock, blue river.

Barnafoss lies just upstream and is a different thing entirely — a narrow chute of white water forced through the lava rather than a broad line of springs.

• No hike: Paths from the car park lead to viewing platforms; the falls are seen from the far bank of the Hvítá.
• Barnafoss: A second waterfall lies just upstream. Two children are said to have fallen to their deaths from a natural bridge there.
• Food: The Hraunfossar Restaurant - Cafe stands next to the site.
• Nearby: The Víðgelmir lava tube is close by, and Húsafell and Reykholt are both near.
• Winter: The falls are worth the trip in winter for the contrast between ice, black lava and blue water.

Hraunfossar lies inland in West Iceland, near Húsafell and Reykholt, and is reached by car. The car park is beside the falls: you park and walk straight in, with short trails leading to the viewing platforms above the Hvítá. There is no hike and no climbing. The Hraunfossar Restaurant - Cafe stands next to the site, so the stop works as a lunch break as well as a viewpoint.

Better: winter, when ice and snow sit against the black lava and the blue water.

Avoid: the middle of the day in summer, when coach parties stop here on the run between Reykholt and Húsafell.

The falls face the platforms across the river and hold much the same light all day, so timing here is about company rather than photography.