Selfoss

About Selfoss

Selfoss waterfall is a broad, horseshoe-shaped waterfall on the glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, about a kilometer upstream of Dettifoss in the Jökulsárgljúfur area of Vatnajökull National Park, Northeast Iceland. The national park puts the drop at about 10 meters, but the river spreads across a long, curved ledge, so the water spills along a wide edge instead of falling in one column.

Many people walk to Dettifoss for the roar, then carry on and find Selfoss the prettier of the two. The name causes plenty of confusion, though. Selfoss is also a large town in South Iceland on the way to the Golden Circle, roughly a seven-hour drive away, and it has nothing to do with this waterfall.

Getting from Dettifoss to Selfoss waterfall is easy. From the west parking lot, the park's D2 trail runs 2.5 kilometers in about an hour, graded easy, first to the Dettifoss viewpoints and then south along the riverbank to Selfoss before looping back on a more westerly path. Wear sturdy shoes, since the path crosses rocky ground and the spray can make it slippery.

The west parking lot is reached by paved Route 862, about an hour's drive from Lake Mývatn and closer to two from Akureyri. That road has limited winter service, and gravel Route 864 on the east bank closes once the first snow arrives, so the easiest time to visit is roughly June to September. Outside summer, check the official road-conditions map before setting out, and leave the steep Hafragil trail nearby to confident hikers because of the risk of falling rocks.