Informationen über: Gljufrasmidur Waterfall

Gljúfrasmiður on Jökulsá á Fjöllum. Photo: Regína Hrönn Ragnarsdóttir

Gljúfrasmiður (Icelandic: Gljúfrasmiður, "the canyon builder") is a waterfall on the upper Jökulsá á Fjöllum in Iceland's northern Highlands. It lies beside the Askja road F88, about 3.5 km south of the Herðubreiðarlindir oasis, inside Vatnajökull National Park.

Super jeep tours to Askja stop here so you can walk to the edge of the gorge the river is carving.

Key Takeaways About Gljúfrasmiður

• Powerful waterfall on Jökulsá á Fjöllum, the same river as Dettifoss
• Beside F88, about 3.5 km south of Herðubreiðarlindir, inside Vatnajökull National Park
• Reached only on summer F-road F88 with a large 4x4, or on Askja super jeep tours
• About 97 km (around 3 hours) from Mývatn; about 562 km from Reykjavík
• Free; plan 15 to 30 minutes for the stop

Why visit Gljúfrasmiður

Gljúfrasmiður is a short, powerful waterfall on Jökulsá á Fjöllum, the glacial river that later thunders over Dettifoss. Here, in the open highland desert north of Askja, the grey meltwater drops over ledges of dark rock into a narrow gorge it is still cutting.

The name means "the canyon builder" (smiður is a smith or craftsman), which describes exactly what the river is doing. It's a wide, low drop rather than a tall one, and the river pours over it with real force.

Most people stop here on a day tour to Askja, along with the Hrossaborg crater and the Herðubreiðarlindir oasis, with the table mountain Herðubreið rising to the west.

The river and the gorge

Jökulsá á Fjöllum is Iceland's second-longest river, about 206 km from Dyngjujökull, an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, to Öxarfjörður bay on the north coast. Gljúfrasmiður lies on its upper course, about 2 km upstream (south) of where the Kreppa river joins it.

Gljúfrasmiður from the west bank. Photo: Evgeniy Metyolkin (Panoramio), CC BY-SA 3.0

Below the falls, the river squeezes into a slot of dark rock, and columnar basalt shows in parts of the gorge walls. The site is inside Vatnajökull National Park, and a park sign marks the stop by the road.

How to get to Gljúfrasmiður

Gljúfrasmiður is about 562 km from Reykjavík by road, roughly 9 to 10 hours of driving, so nobody does it as a day trip from the capital. Drive Route 1 north via Akureyri, continue east past Mývatn, and turn south onto mountain road F88 (Öskjuleið) near Hrossaborg. The falls are about 64 km down F88, just east of the road.

The nearest base is Reykjahlíð at Lake Mývatn, about 97 km and around 3 hours away. From Akureyri it's about 180 km, a little over 4 hours each way.

F88 is an F-road: open only in summer and legal only for 4x4 vehicles. It has unbridged rivers that can be more than 1 m deep, so you need a large 4x4 and experience with fords. Check that your rental agreement allows F-roads and river crossings, and check road.is before you go.

Without your own vehicle, join a super jeep tour to Askja from Mývatn or Akureyri; the tours listed below stop here. From the road, a short walk takes you to viewpoints over the falls and the gorge.

When to visit

Visit from late June to early September. F88 usually opens in the second half of June; one local operator gives 14 June as the earliest and 26 June as the latest opening. It closes again when autumn snow arrives. July and August have the most reliable access and the longest days.

Basalt columns in the gorge. Photo: Rémih, CC BY-SA 4.0

The river carries the most water on warm summer afternoons, when glacier melt peaks. Expect wind, blowing sand and sudden weather changes in the highlands at any time of year.

Safety tips

• Stay well back from the edge of the gorge. The rock is undercut in places and the river is ice-cold and very fast.
• Never try to cross Jökulsá á Fjöllum on foot.
• Fill up with fuel at Mývatn before you turn onto F88; there are no fuel stations along the road.
• Read our guide to the Highlands of Iceland before driving F-roads.