Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss

Seljalandsfoss as seen behind the falls

Skógafoss dark and moody

In Iceland "foss" means waterfall. And you see foss everywhere, because in Iceland waterfalls are everywhere. And they are all amazing.

Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss are two very large and very well known waterfalls along Iceland's southern coast. They are only 30 minutes away from each other and situated near Þórsmörk Valley (which is deserving of it's own dedicated post soon). We stopped at Seljalandsfoss at the end of the day after exploring Þórsmörk. Seljalandsfoss is unique in that you can walk behind the cascading water along a rock wall. There is about 6-10 feet from the wall to the edge.

Lindsey and I really lucked out. We had very good weather as the evening progressed. And the view of the setting sun was perfect from behind the falls. We took in the experience and then headed to our hotel for the night. We'd see Skógafoss the following day.

The first thing you notice about Skógafoss is how huge it is. From the road. From the parking lot. Right next to the cascade. It's huge. There is a standard shot that everyone gets at Skógafoss. It's a solo shot of a person with the wall of water behind them. And it just reinforces how huge the waterfall is.

Skógafoss is a really fun waterfall to photograph. The stream that follows the falls is kind a dinker. It's very shallow, so if the flow isn't running too fast you can wade in and get some photographs with the stream in the foreground. The most difficult aspect is the sheer number of visitors the falls get. You need time and patience to wait your turn to get close to the falls. But once you do, there is so much to see and explore.

We spent more time than we should have at Skógafoss. It's hard not to. So many photographs to try and take. We set ourselves back by about 45 minutes to start the day and played catch up at all our stops until we got to our hotel. But ultimately it was worth it. I'll never forget my time at Skógafoss. And any extra time spent there was well worth it.