In this travel blog, I want to show you the spectacular Skógafoss waterfall, which has been my all-time favourite waterfall in Iceland since I first visited it as a child with my parents.
Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, with a drop of some 60 meters and a width of 25 meters. You can walk right up to it, but be prepared to be drenched.
It is quite overwhelming standing next to it.
Top photo: a rainbow at Skógafoss
Seeing that the waterfall produces a lot of drizzle, you will be able to see beautiful rainbows on sunny days.
The most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen were here by Skógafoss.
Often there are beautiful double rainbows here, and once a beautiful rainbow encircled me - I literally stood in a circle of a rainbow!
Skógafoss is the only waterfall where I have seen such rainbows :)
Rainbow by Skógafoss
It was impossible to take a photo of the rainbow that encircled me, but my husband did his best to capture me with it.
In one photo, I look like I am the gold at the end of the rainbow, as the end of the rainbow seems to be coming out of my ear :)
Touched by a rainbow at Skógafoss
Steps lead up to an observation platform above Skógafoss, i.e., if one is up for it, as there are some 527 steps, depending on where you start.
I once climbed these steps on a freezing, extremely windy November day, which left me almost flying through the air!
See also my travel blog:
A Winter Visit to the South Coast of Iceland- all the way to Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon
It is well worth climbing all these steps to see Skógafoss from above and enjoy the beautiful view. That said, the best view of the waterfall itself is from the ground.
The troll by Skógafoss waterfall
Skógafoss is only one of the waterfalls in the Skógá river; there are 24 other waterfalls in this river above Skógafoss, some of which I will hopefully be exploring soon!
If you do this hike, please report back to me the number of waterfalls in the river. I have heard several numbers, ranging from 24 to 37!
A short video I took of Skógafoss on a sunny day recently
In 2010, Eyjafjallajökull erupted, sending millions of tons of ash into the atmosphere.
Skógafoss turned grey, and everything was covered in ash. It was so sad seeing my favourite waterfall in such a condition.
Skógafoss waterfall as seen from the Ring Road
When you start seeing the waterfall from the Ring Road, it looks like a painting; ever so beautiful and majestic!
It is especially beautiful when the water is still, and I have seen some spectacular photos taken from this angle.
And I am sure that you will be able to get better photos than I do.
The Legend of the Treasure Chest in Skógafoss
Skógafoss waterfall up close
A legend is connected to Skógafoss waterfall; it is believed that behind it lies a chest filled with gold and other treasures.
The story goes that Þrasi Þórólfsson, the Viking Settler at Skógar (Eystriskógar) around 900, hid the chest, and it is said that the first man who goes there will find great treasures.
I found this folklore in Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore of Jón Árnason:
"Þrasi lived in Eystriskógar, some people say at Þrasastaðir farm, a short distance east of Skógafoss waterfall; Skógar is now the easternmost farm in Rangarávallasýslu county.
Skógafoss waterfall
At that time, Loðmundur lived in Sólheimar, the next farm east of Sólheimasandur sandplain, and thus they were neighbours.
Þrasi and Loðmundur were both very skilled in the magical arts (which, in the Icelandic Sagas and folklore, often means that they were of Irish origin, though in this case, Landnámabók says that Þrasi came from Hordaland in Norway and Loðmundur from Vörs in Norway).
A river ran through their lands, called Fúlilækur (foul-smelling creek), and later the Jökulsá in the Sólheimasandur plains (Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi).
Landnámabók states that both of them directed this river to the other's land, as neither of them wanted this smelly river so close.
Skógafoss with a rainbow
This resulted in the sand, called Sólheimasandur plains, being void of grass, and one can still see many runways in the sand where the river has run at any given time.
Finally, the neighbours realized that they were creating a desolate wasteland.
On the east side of Jökulsá glacial river, there is a hill in Sólheimaheiði heath leading from the mountain alongside the river - it is called Loðmundarsæti, but opposite on the west side of the river in the lower part of Mt. Skógafjall, there is a place called Þrasaháls hill.
The river runs in gorges between these two hills and onto the sand plains.
Map from Landmælingar Íslands - the National Land Survey of Iceland
It is said that in this location, Þrasi and Loðmundur stayed while they were quarreling, and both Landnáma and the folklore state that they made peace by the gorges and decided on making the river fall onto the sand plains by the shortest distance to the sea.
But it seems like there is always a whirl in this river, and that one wave seeks upstream, while the other falls downwards, and the story goes that this unnaturalness of the river stems from the fight between Þrasi and Loðmundur.
How many trolls do you spot in this photo? We, locals, are always looking for trolls in the landscape
The story goes that Þrasi, who owned a chest filled with gold and treasures, had placed it beneath Skógafoss, and in olden times, one could see one side of the chest protruding from the waterfall.
There is an old rhyme, which goes like this in Icelandic:
"Þrasakista auðug er
undir fossi Skóga,
hver sem þangað fyrstur fer
finnur auðlegð nóga."
In English, it goes something like this:
"The chest of Þrasi is filled with treasures
located beneath Skógafoss waterfall,
The first man who goes there
will find great richness."
The chest ring is on display at the Skógasafn Museum
The story goes that there were once three men at Skógar, the sons of Ámundi Þormóðsson ("lögréttumaður" 1639-1671 or longer).
They wanted to retrieve the chest from beneath the waterfall.
All of a sudden, they looked toward the farm, and it appeared to be on fire; they decided to return, only to find no danger apparent on the farm.
(I have read similar stories in other folklore from other locations in Iceland, where the farm or church seems to be on fire when it is not.)
Skógafoss - and a rainbow :)
Later on, they decided to return to the waterfall to retrieve the chest and were not misled by some delusions.
They managed to get quite close to the chest and were able to hook a ring on the side of the chest.
But as they were about to pull the chest towards them, they jerked the ring from the chest, and the chest got left behind. The story goes that the ring is now located in the church door at Skógar".
(Translated into English from Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore of Jón Árnason).
Skógakirkja museum church
The chest ring from the chest is now on display at the Skógar Museum.
Skógakirkja church was deconsecrated in 1890, and the current Skógakirkja museum church (photo above) belongs to the Skógar Museum.
I have read that when the church at Skógar was deconsecrated, this beautiful chest-ring was used in the church at Eyvindarhólar in the vicinity of Skógar. That church was pulled down in 1960, and a new church was built.
I visited that church on the same day that I stayed at Hotel Skógar, and it is a beautiful modern church. The chest-ring was then donated to the Skógar Museum, where it is on display.
Eyvindarhólakirkja church in South Iceland
Skógafoss waterfall is located some 154 km from Reykjavík by Ring Road 1, so it makes for a pleasant day trip away from Reykjavík.
You can rent a car in Reykjavík and drive to Skógafoss in 2 hours, but there are many stops on the way, so take your time :)
You can also join one of the many guided tours of the south coast.
Here is a selection of the best South Coast tours in Iceland. You can compare them and find the one that suits you best.
I have joined several tours and written a couple of travel blogs about my experience:
Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon - a Tour of the Jewels of the South Coast of Iceland
The South Coast of Iceland in a Super Jeep
I also refer you to my travel blog about the three beautiful Waterfalls of South Iceland for information about most of the beautiful waterfalls on the south coast of Iceland.
Here is the location of Skógafoss waterfall on Google Maps.
Have a lovely time at Skógafoss waterfall, and I hope that you will see a rainbow by the waterfall :)
Ref.:
Landnámabók - the Book of Settlements - chapters 79 and 88
Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore by Jón Árnason - Þrasi Þórólfsson og Loðmundur
