Aldeyjarfoss Waterfall tour

They are famous, and one of them quite remote. All are unique in a way.

冰島 Godafoss

The Goðafoss is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland. It is located in the Bárðardalur district of North-Central Iceland at the beginning of the Sprengisandur highland road. The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters.

In the year 999 or 1000 the Lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made Christianity the official religion of Iceland. After his conversion it is said that upon returning from the Alþingi, Þorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall. The name Goðafoss, means “the waterfall of the gods”.

Aldeyjarfoss

Though only twenty metres in height and a little off the beaten track, Aldeyjarfoss waterfall has symmetrical features and geologically interesting surrounds. Tumbling through a narrow passage into a wide basin, the concertinaed black basalt columns provide a stark contrast against the thrashing white foam, making it oft considered one of Iceland’s photographic gems.
Aldeyjarfoss is one of most impressive waterfalls on the Skjálfandafljót River’s route from the Vatnajokull ice cap to Skjálfandi Bay. Others include Hrafnabjargafoss, Barnafoss and the most famous, Goðafoss.

Geology
The land here is part of an apalhraun lava field, named Suðurárhraun, which was originally formed by eruptions, some 9500 years ago.  In Icelandic, hraun simply means lava. The official English terms for basaltic lava flows are taken from Hawaii – apalhraun is a platy lava flow known as aʻā and helluhraun is a ropier kind of lava known as pāhoehoe.

Dettifoss
Dettifoss waterfall, North Iceland

The waterfall Dettifoss is situated on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, which flows from the Vatnajökull glacier and collects water from a large area in Northeast Iceland. The falls are 100 metres (330 ft) wide and have a drop of 45 meters (150 ft) down to the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon. It is the largest waterfall in Iceland in terms of volume discharge, having an average water flow of 193 m3/s.
Selfoss and Hafragilsfoss are another waterfalls close to Dettifoss, all of them spectacular to see.

The tour will also lead us through the remote and untouched heaths and wetlands of the Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla county along with Lake Mývatn on our way to Dettifoss.

The tour is tailor made by the needs of my guests so both duration and the order of stops is variable. Although I only mention 3 waterfalls, if preferred we can also visit more, because there are plenty of waterfall here in North Iceland.

In the winter time, this tour can also be suitable as a Northern Lights tour, the area is excellent to view the Northern Lights. Do to sometimes heavy snow in the winter, the routes to Aldeyjarfoss and Dettifoss can be impassable.

The route to Aldeyjarfoss waterfall through the valley of Bárðardalur takes us right to the filming location of the awarded movie “Rams”.

Tour price: ISK 180.000,-  (This is a private tour with maximum of 4 passengers.)

  • This is a Private tour and is all year around – daily on request, reservation required.
  • Departures are optional: Pick up in Laugar, Húsavík, Akureyri or the Mývatn area.
  • Departure time is on request and the duration of the tour is variable, as it is always tailor made.
  • Included is fully guided tour and transportation.
  • Refreshments are not included in price.

For more information and booking, contact me with email: kip@kip.is 

Private tours in Iceland
Drop off at hotel in Laugar after a great day