Skógafoss: A Deep Dive
A short drive east of Seljalandsfoss along Iceland's south coast, the Skógá river reaches the same line of cliffs and pours over in a broad, thundering curtain. This is Skógafoss — one of Iceland's largest and most famous waterfalls, a near-perfect rectangle of falling water 25 metres wide and 60 metres tall, almost permanently wreathed in rainbows on sunny days. Where Seljalandsfoss is slender and lets you walk behind it, Skógafoss is all raw power and spray, a wall of glacial water you can walk right up to.
The drop and the dimensions
Skógafoss drops about 60 metres over a sheer cliff, with a width of around 25 metres — giving it the broad, curtain-like form that makes it so photogenic. The Skógá river carries a substantial, reliable volume, and at the base the falls throw up so much spray that on any sunny day single or even double rainbows hang in the mist. You can walk right to the foot of the falls across the flat riverbed, close enough to feel the spray and the ground tremble.
The former sea cliff
Like its neighbour Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss pours over an ancient sea cliff. Thousands of years ago the Atlantic reached the foot of this escarpment; as the land rose and the sea retreated, the coastline moved several kilometres south, leaving the cliff stranded inland. Today the flat coastal plain stretches from the base of the falls to the distant shore, and the long line of cliffs — over which many south-coast waterfalls fall — marks where Iceland's edge once stood.
Fed by glaciers and volcanoes
The Skógá river is fed by meltwater from the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull ice caps, which sit atop active volcanoes. This glacial source gives Skógafoss its strong, year-round flow, swelling in summer with melting and after rain. The river above the falls is famous in its own right: the Skógá climbs into the highlands in a staircase of around twenty more waterfalls, and the hiking trail beside it — the start of the celebrated Fimmvörðuháls trek — links Skógafoss to a whole valley of cascades.
The staircase of waterfalls above
Most visitors see only Skógafoss itself, but a staircase beside the falls climbs to a viewpoint at the top, and from there a trail follows the Skógá river upstream through one of the densest concentrations of waterfalls in Iceland. Over the next several kilometres the river tumbles over around twenty cascades of every shape — plunges, chutes, and fans — as it descends from the highland ice. The full Fimmvörðuháls trail continues between the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull glaciers, past the 2010 eruption site, all the way to Þórsmörk.
Legend and treasure
Skógafoss carries one of Iceland's best-loved waterfall legends. Þrasi Þórólfsson, a Viking settler said to have founded the nearby farm of Skógar, is supposed to have hidden a chest of gold in a cave behind the falls. Generations later, villagers are said to have found the chest and grasped a ring on its side, but managed only to pull the ring free before the treasure vanished back behind the water. The ring, the story goes, was given to the local church door — and an old ring is indeed preserved in the Skógar folk museum nearby.
When to visit
Skógafoss is spectacular and accessible in every season. Summer brings the strongest glacial flow, the green surroundings, and long daylight — along with the biggest crowds and the best chance of rainbows in the midday and afternoon sun. Winter can frame the falls in snow and ice and offers the possibility of northern lights, though the staircase to the top can be icy. Because the falls face roughly south, sunny days almost always produce rainbows in the spray, making it one of Iceland's most reliable rainbow waterfalls.
Photographing Skógafoss
Skógafoss is a photographer's favourite. The classic shot is head-on from the riverbed, capturing the full rectangular curtain with a rainbow arcing through the spray — best when the sun is out and behind you. A wide lens takes in the whole fall; a person in the frame conveys the 60-metre scale. For a different perspective, climb the staircase to the clifftop viewpoint and shoot down the river, or photograph the cascades along the Fimmvörðuháls trail above. As always with glacial spray, protect your gear and bring a cloth.
On the south coast itinerary
Skógafoss sits squarely on Iceland's most popular touring route. It pairs naturally with nearby Seljalandsfoss, the black-sand beach and sea stacks at Reynisfjara, the village of Vík, and the glaciers of the south. The Skógar area itself, with its folk museum and the trailhead for the highland cascades, rewards a longer stop. For countless travellers, the broad, rainbow-crowned wall of Skógafoss — easy to reach, free to visit, and unforgettable up close — is one of the defining images of an Iceland journey.
Explore on the map
Skógafoss, the staircase of waterfalls above it, and the other great cascades of Iceland's south coast are plotted on the interactive map — explore it to plan a Ring Road journey along the former sea cliff.