Seljalandsfoss

Seljalandsfoss lies in south Iceland, just off the Ring Road (Route 1) near the junction with the road to Thorsmork, about 120 kilometres east of Reykjavik. It is one of the most visited waterfalls in the country and a common first stop on trips along the south coast.

The river Seljalandsa drops about 60 metres over the old sea cliffs that once marked Iceland's coastline. Its water comes partly from the area of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier and volcano, whose eruption in 2010 disrupted air travel across Europe.

The best known feature is the path that runs behind the waterfall, through a shallow cave in the cliff, giving views out through the curtain of water. In the late afternoon in summer the sun shines through the falls, often with rainbows. The path is wet and slippery and is usually closed in winter when ice forms.

A short walk north along the cliffs leads to Gljufrabui, a smaller waterfall partly hidden inside a narrow canyon, reached by wading a short way into a stream. Other waterfalls drip from the cliffs along the same path.

Seeing the waterfall is free, but parking in the official car park is charged. Bring waterproof clothing and shoes with good grip if walking behind the falls. Skogafoss, another large waterfall, is about 30 kilometres further east along the Ring Road.

Where does the water come from? The Seljalandsa river rises on the slopes of the Eyjafjallajokull ice cap and reaches the cliff edge as a single narrow stream. The falls sit just off Route 1 at the junction with Road 249, the gravel road that leads inland toward Thorsmork.

The waterfall is a familiar backdrop on screen. It was a stop on the first leg of The Amazing Race 6, appears in the 1990 film The Juniper Tree, where Bjork's character walks behind the water, and features in Justin Bieber's video for I'll Show You and the season three opener of Star Trek: Discovery. In 2017 plans for an 8-metre-high visitor centre of 2,000 square metres near the falls drew strong objections from people who felt it would spoil the view.

Spray soaks everything on the path behind the water, so put phones and cameras in a bag.