Kirkjufell Waterfall

The falls are small: three cascades stepping over a low ledge. On their own they would be one more roadside stop. The reason to pull over is the alignment. From the bank, the pointed wedge of Kirkjufell sits directly behind the water, with the sea and the coastal mountains off to one side. Several viewpoints ring the falls, and each shifts the mountain a little against the cascades, so it is worth walking past the first place everyone stops. Clear air matters more than water level here. In low cloud the mountain disappears and the picture goes with it.

• Nothing on site: no toilets, no drinking water and no information board, at the falls or anywhere close by.
• Tour coaches stop here: the car park fills and the viewpoints around the falls get crowded.
• The mountain is the picture: in low cloud it disappears, and what is left is three small cascades.
• With children: the walk in is short, but the ground above the falls is open and the wind is often strong.

There is no stop at the falls, and almost everyone arrives by car. The car park nearest the water is about 200 m away and asphalted; a second one sits about 400 m off. From either, the walk in takes about five minutes, and access to the first viewpoint is straightforward. The nearest public transport stop is in Grundarfjörður, some way short of the falls.

Better: a clear day, and the long evening light of summer, when the sun sits low behind the mountain and the coaches have moved on.

Avoid: low cloud and rain — the mountain is the subject here, and without it there is little to photograph.

Kirkjufell is why the falls are famous, so the cloud base matters more than anything else in the forecast. In winter the same spot is used for aurora photographs, with the mountain anchoring the frame.