Goðafoss Waterfall

About Goðafoss Waterfall

Goðafoss is a waterfall on the glacial river Skjálfandafljót in North Iceland, right beside the Ring Road about 35 kilometers east of Akureyri. The river drops about 12 meters over a horseshoe-shaped ledge roughly 30 meters wide, splitting into several channels around a rock in the middle, and few big waterfalls in Iceland are this easy to reach.

The name means "waterfall of the gods," and it comes from Iceland's conversion to Christianity in the year 1000. Saga tradition holds that the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði rode home from the Althing after settling the question and threw his statues of the old Norse gods into these falls. Whether or not it happened exactly here, it is one of the best-known stories in Icelandic history.

From Akureyri the drive along Route 1 takes around 35 minutes, and Lake Mývatn is roughly 45 minutes farther east. That position makes the Goðafoss and Mývatn pairing the natural way to plan a day in the north, and the falls are a regular stop on Diamond Circle tours. Without a car, you can join a Goðafoss tour from Akureyri, or check whether bus route 79 toward Húsavík is running, since it stops at Fosshóll beside the falls on selected dates.

There are parking lots and marked paths on both banks of the river. The west side has the shortest walk to the main viewpoint, while the east bank gives you a wider view across the whole horseshoe. Plan on 30 to 60 minutes to see both sides at an easy pace.

Entry is free, though parking charges at Icelandic sites change, so check the signs when you arrive. The Fosshóll café and souvenir shop beside the falls has restrooms and is open daily, with longer hours in summer. In winter the falls are framed by ice and snow and the paths get slippery, so bring microspikes and keep well back from the edge.