Selvallafoss Waterfall

The point of Selvallafoss is the gap behind the water. A path runs into it, so you stand between the rock and the falling curtain and look out through it. Few waterfalls in Iceland allow that. The trail does not stop there. It carries on around the falls and down to lake level, past several separate tiers of water.

The setting does as much work as the waterfall. Around it are lava fields, moss-covered boulders and the open water of Lake Selvallavatn, with mountains behind. From the road you see almost none of this. The falls drop away below the road, and the whole view arrives at once when you reach the viewpoint.

• No facilities. There are no toilets, no drinking water and no information board at the falls.
• Slippery underfoot. The gravel around the falls stays wet. Wear proper hiking shoes rather than trainers.
• No barriers. The path spreads out in all directions above the drop towards the lake, and nothing separates you from the edge.
• Easy to drive past. The falls lie below road 56 and are barely visible from a car heading north towards Stykkishólmur.

Drivers come in on road 56. The falls sit below the road on the left heading north towards Stykkishólmur, which is why they are hard to spot from a moving car. A car park lies about 150 metres away, on compacted gravel, and doubles as the viewpoint. From there it is roughly five minutes on foot down to the water. The trail then continues behind the falls and around them at lake level.

Better: the evening.

Avoid: treating it as a photo stop from the car park.

Selvallafoss draws far fewer people than Iceland's better-known waterfalls, and in the evening there is a fair chance of having it to yourself. The five minutes to the viewpoint is only the start. The walk in behind the water and the loop down at lake level need longer, and they are the reason to stop here at all.