Brúarfoss

About Brúarfoss

Brúarfoss is a short, wide waterfall on the Brúará river in Bláskógabyggð, South Iceland, between Laugarvatn and Geysir, where the river splits into dozens of small cascades that pour into a narrow cleft. Its water runs an icy turquoise that looks edited in photos but is just as bright in person.

That color comes from the source of the river. Much of the Brúará is fed by very clear spring water that has filtered through lava fields, so it carries little sediment and reflects the sky like glass. The Brúarfoss waterfall drops only a few meters, which is why people can walk right up to the viewing points on the bank.

Brúarfoss is about 1 hour 15 minutes by car from Reykjavík. Since spring 2023, the quickest approach is the Brúarfoss parking lot at Hlauptunga, reached from Road 37 (Laugarvatnsvegur). From there it is about a five-minute walk to the falls, and the lot is open around the clock all year.

Brúarfoss parking costs 750 ISK for cars with up to seven seats, 2,000 ISK for minibuses and 4,000 ISK for larger buses. You pay through the Parka app, so set it up before you lose signal.

For a proper Brúarfoss hike, take the riverside trail that starts from a separate parking area on Road 37. It runs about 3.5 kilometers each way along the Brúará, passing two smaller falls, Hlauptungufoss and Miðfoss, before reaching Brúarfoss, so plan on roughly two hours round trip. The trail closes in winter, though the upper parking lot stays open.

Late spring through early fall shows the blue at its best, ideally on a bright day. Allow 30 minutes from the upper lot, then pair it with Geysir or the Laugarvatn pools nearby. The current is strong and the rocks are slippery, and the river has claimed lives, so keep well back from the edge.