Jökulsárgljúfur: Iceland's answer to the Grand Canyon

Jökulsárgljúfur, located in the north of the main island, is Iceland’s largest canyon. It hosts several interesting features, including three waterfalls, and has some excellent hiking opporunities.

Geology and Formation

Jökulsárgljúfur was formed during a catastrophic flood of the river Jökulsá, creating a 25-km / 15.5-mile long, 0.5-km / 0.3-mile wide canyon that sometimes has a depth of up to 100 metres / 3280 feet. This most likely happened during the last glacial period as the river Jökulsá flows from the Vatnajökull glacier.

Various views of Dettifoss

While it is a very impressive site, Jökulsárgljúfur is actually very young as the water has not had time to completely erode the land, which would mean levelling the course of the river.

Why is Jökulsárgljúfur Important?

The landscape, flora, fauna and history of this river canyon was the objective for protecting this area of the country. The west side of Jökulsárgljúfur became a national park in 1973 and was incorpororated into the larger Vatnajökull National Park in 2008. The waterfalls were considered a protected area in 1996 and were also incorporated into Vatnajökull National Park at in 2008. These measures aimed to preserve Jökulsárgljúfur and its surroundings while allowing for limited public access.

Dettifoss Waterfall

Jökulsárgljúfur’s Waterfalls

There are three main waterfalls in Jökulsárgljúfur: upriver is Selfoss, then Dettifoss, then Hafragilsfoss.

Selfoss

Selfoss is the southernmost waterfall on the river Jökulsá which flows from south to north. Selfoss is a horse-shoe shaped waterfall with a 10-metre / 32.8-ft drop. It is extremely broad with the length of the rim of the waterfall being multiple times longer than the width of the canyon.

Dettifoss

The next waterfall is Dettifoss, which is the largest of the three. It is 45 metres / 148 feet tall and 100 metres / 328 ft wide. The canyon is much narrower at this point and a lot of spray is common at Dettifoss.

Views of Dettifoss, all from the east side

Hafragilsfoss

The last waterfall, which is 27 metres / 86 feet tall and is named after Hafragil ravine. This ravine, which was also formed by the river, also has a fourth waterfall that is 7 metres tall and known as Réttarfoss.

Views from the upriver of Hafragilsfoss

How to get to Jökulsárgljúfur

As a canyon, Jökulsárgljúfur creates a large divide in the land. Therefore there are two places that you can visit, the west side and the east side.

Additional views of Selfoss

The west side is served by route 862, a well-paved road that connects to Route 1 – Iceland’s ring road – in the south and Route 85 – which surves the north and northeasterns areas – in the north. This is the road that all bus tours take, stopppiong at the view points on the west side only.

An alternative is Route 864, which also connects to Routes 1 and 85 but runs along the eastern part of Jökulsárgljúfur. In contrast with Route 862, Route 864 is very rugged and has not been paved. Its sole purpose is to go up the much more rugged and wild eastern side, so it is unlikely that it will be paved in the near future.

Additional views of Selfoss

East vs West

The west side of Jökulsárgljúfur is much easier to visit due to Route 862 being paved and well maintained. However the spray from the waterfalls tend to rise to the western side due to the geography of the area. Views are often obstructed, especially at Dettifoss which is angled in that direction. The west side also only has view points at the edge of the canyon and must be traversed by car.

In contrast, the east side is much more difficult to visit but offers better views of the canyon and waterfalls. The east side also lets you get into the flatter areas of the canyon and allows you to hike between waterfalls. You can also get up close and personal with the river as well if you would like.

If you do not have more than half a day, I would recommend viisiting the east side due to the ease of access. However if you have the time and a vehicle that is fine with very bumpy, poorly maintained gravel roads (at least a 4×4 vehicle is a must!), then I recommend going to the eastern side for better views and hiking opportunities.

More views of Dettifoss

There are no cafés or shops on either side of Jökulsárgljúfur; however there are toilet facilities at many of the view points or hiking start locations. However, please take all rubbish with you as rubbish bins are rarely emptied and cost a lot to maintain due to distances that rubbish has to be transported to be disposed of.