Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

Most waterfalls are looked at from the front. At Seljalandsfoss the path carries on around the back, between the cliff face and a 60-metre column of water, into a small cave on the far side. Expect to be soaked. The spray reaches the whole loop, and a rain jacket matters more here than a camera.

The water comes off Eyjafjallajökull, the glacier volcano, and arrives as the Seljalands River over a sheer wall of rock. A path from the same car park leads on to Gljúfrabúi, a second waterfall entered through a cleft in the rock.

The falls turn up on screen often. Björk's character walks behind them in the 1990 film The Juniper Tree, and the third-season opener of Star Trek: Discovery has a brief scene here.

• Waterproofs: the path behind the falls runs through spray. Bring a rain jacket and waterproof shoes, and keep camera gear covered.
• Parking is charged: the asphalt car park by the falls takes a fee. The gravel car park 769 m out is free.
• Toilets: free toilets stand about 220 m from the falls. There is no drinking water point in the area.
• A shared car park: the same car park serves the neighbouring waterfalls, so the crowd on the path is not only yours.

Seljalandsfoss stands beside Route 1, where Road 249 turns off towards Þórsmörk. From the main car park it is 236 m to the foot of the falls, and the walk in is easy. The path then runs around and behind the water and comes back out on the other side. That stretch is wet from start to finish. A separate path from the same car park leads to Gljúfrabúi.

Better: early in the morning.

Avoid: arriving when the car park is already full — everyone in it walks onto the same path.

The loop behind the falls is where every visitor goes, and it is the one stretch that cannot absorb a crowd. Come early enough and it can be empty. Later there is a steady stream of people on it, and the spray means nobody lingers to let you past.