Hiking Up the Gluggafoss Waterfall
I recently made a post about the Hildarendakirkja church which you can find here. A short distance to the west of the church is a Gluggafoss waterfall. It is located not far from the famous Eyjafjallajökull glacier/volcano in southern Iceland. I had never seen this waterfall nor driven the road that leads to it so I figured that it would be a great idea to go there.
Gluggafoss means window waterfall when translated. It's not too hard to see why. When you look at the waterfall, you can see that the water flows behind the rocks and the holes look like windows. This can be better seen in the photos below. It is approximately 44 meters tall and is often overlooked by tourists. When we were there I only saw two other people while 5 kilometers away is Seljalandsfoss and the crowds are insane there.
The waterfall changes pretty fast. 50 years ago a lot less water was seen through the "windows". This is due to a soft rock known as palagonite and water erodes it pretty quickly, speaking in geologic terms.
We decided to climb up the cliff on a narrow trail that goes next to the waterfall and see what there is to see above. Up the cliff, it was cool to see how the water managed to create an arch that water flows through.
Hiking up there was not that easy, the path is very steep and really kicks up the pulse. We were able to see more waterfalls up there.
I don't know how far or where the trail actually goes, I wish we had more time that day to go explore further but unfortunately, we did have it.
The view to the other side was also worth noting. There I was able to see the notorious Eyjafjallajökull volcano. I had never seen it from this side before.
Looking right from the volcano is a huge perfectly flat plain. You can also see the ocean and some islands in it. These are Vestmannaeyjar islands. There a plan emerged that maybe we should take a ferry tomorrow and go there, we ended up doing that but that's the subject of another post. Here is the photo.
One more photo of something that you don't see too much in Iceland, the trees!
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The view of the waterfall that you see looks very enchanting and the water looks very clear.
Must be very happy to be here
Iceland sure is my happy place. So many clear waterfalls there.
The joy of being there is that the water continues to flow and give life
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Iceland, huh?! 👀
Wow. You're the first person I've "met" from Iceland and these are the first photos I've seen of Iceland.
Isn't Hive incredible? 😊
Unfortunately I must disappoint you that I am not an Icelander 😁.I dont live there. I live in Estonia but I have traveled to Iceland a lot, probably will travel there a lot more during my liftime 😅
Well I still thought that was pretty cool!
Pun intended.
:)
And still nice to meet you!
Likewise!
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Wow, great post and photos of a lovely waterfall. the "no crowds" attribute makes it even more attractive :)
Was the path up by the waterfall slippery?
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Thank you! Most people flock to all the well-known, famous places in Iceland but there are countless hidden gems in the country.
Not very slippery. The path was dry but extremely steep sections were a bit slippery due to loose dirt.
I can imagine, on both accounts.
You are our resident expert on Iceland's hidden gems !LOLZ
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Beautiful. I've added it to my list for when we go next year. Any other tips for uncrowded places off the main tourist route?
Well, the Bakkagerdi area in the northeast has gorgeous landscapes and hikes but tourists rarely go there. Also, definitely westfjords too. Most skip it due to lack of time or I don't know why but I have never seen huge crowds there and the detour is so worth it.
It depends when you go really but if you want to visit the most famous tourist places too( which are also amazing ) and don't want to see the insane crowds, go very early or late. In the summer go at night since it's bright anyway. Even the most famous places are empty late in the evening or at night.
You can also check out my Pinmapple map to see a ton of locations I have been on Iceland.
I will definitely check out the Pineapple!!! There's not many pins in Australia as there are in Europe, so I imagine it'll be more useful to me there. Thanks for the great advice!
These photography are very lovely and admirable. The was a great adventure. I wish I could have one of such.
Thanks!
Wow! I love the view of this. The waterfall and the green grasses speaks highly of nature and how amazing it is.
Yeah, it is quite something.
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Very amazing photos. Aside from the waterfall I also love the ones that photo of the volcano. Indeed nature has its own way of expressing its beauty.
Glaciers/volcanoes in Iceland are amazing to see, and look so majestic and cool.
$WINE
The waterfall is very beautiful. It's like the earth is splitting open and there is water flowing in the split.
When the years go by, the split is getting larger, water erodes it day by day.
Hiking can really be fun and adventurous. The waterfall must actually be a tourist attraction there because it looks so great
There are already so many tourist attractions in Iceland, I'm glad some places are looked over really.
Having a waterfall so close to the church feels like a double bliss for me! Over here, in Romania, these are in opposite directions and located quite far from waterfalls, so I'd love to enjoy a similar experience whenever the time occurs :)
In Iceland chances are pretty good that churches are close to waterfalls. Since there are a lot of small churches and A LOT of waterfalls, about 20 000 but nobody really knows.
Damn, that's a crazy number! I love it, haha!
It's truly lovely. I love peace full places where there is no noise, no crowds of people. It's beautiful
Yep, it's a great feeling!
Beautiful scenery! but the thing that captures my attention more than the beautiful pictures is the name of the waterfall and the glacier. I spent a while tried to read them lol
Lol yeah. There is even a video on YouTube about how Americans try to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull, great fun 😀. For me, it's pretty simple and the Estonian accent is not far off from Icelandic I would say.
What beautiful photographs. I loved the place, I think it's a very nice place to take lots of pictures and chat with someone about interesting topics.
Best regards!
Great place to do all kinds of activities for sure.
Such places are very special where a person can see the natural scenery from it and this is where we are seeing the waterfall. All the friends also had a lot of fun.
True, true!
Thanks.
Beautiful. Amazing nature
Indeed!
Amazing views and dramatic pictures. No wonder you spend so much time photographing Iceland. It is so beautiful! If only the anmes of the places weren't so long and hard to pronounce!
It sounds like you had an amazing adventure exploring Gluggafoss and the surrounding area in southern Iceland! Your detailed description and the photos provide a great sense of the beauty and uniqueness of the waterfall.
The name "Gluggafoss" makes perfect sense given the distinctive windows created by the water flowing behind the rocks. It's always fascinating to learn about the geological processes that shape landscapes, and the fact that the waterfall has changed over the years due to erosion on the soft palagonite rock adds an extra layer of interest.
Climbing up the cliff to explore further and discovering additional waterfalls sounds like a challenging but rewarding experience. The view from above, especially with the arch formed by the water, must have been breathtaking.
The unexpected view of Eyjafjallajökull from a different perspective and the possibility of taking a ferry to the Vestmannaeyjar islands add another dimension to your journey. It's great that you were able to capture these moments with your photos, giving readers a glimpse into the diverse landscapes of Iceland.
And, of course, the photo of the trees is a nice touch. In a country known for its dramatic and often treeless landscapes, seeing trees becomes a unique and noteworthy sight.
I look forward to hearing about your adventures on the Vestmannaeyjar islands in your next post!
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