Bolstadafoss Waterfall Travel Guide

Fláajökull and Heinabergsfjöll from Almannaskarð. Photo: Rémih, CC BY-SA 4.0

Bólstaðafoss waterfall is a tall, little-known fall in the Heinabergsfjöll mountains of Southeast Iceland, on the ridge that separates the two Vatnajökull outlet glaciers Fláajökull and Heinabergsjökull. The name means "the waterfall at Bólstaður", bólstaður being an old word for a farmstead or dwelling.

It steps down a dark basalt cliff in several drops; the ice-climbing route up the frozen fall is 75 metres long, and the tour operator that hikes past it describes a triple-drop fall of around 100 metres.

It lies inside Vatnajökull National Park between the tracks to the Fláajökull and Heinabergslón glacier lagoons, about half an hour's drive west of Höfn, and is mostly seen on guided glacier days in summer or by ice climbers in winter.

Key Takeaways About Bólstaðafoss

• Stepped waterfall of 75-100 m (ice route 75 m; operator says about 100 m in three drops) on the Heinabergsfjöll ridge
• Inside Vatnajökull National Park, about 30 minutes west of Höfn and about 435 km / 6-6.5 h from Reykjavík
• No signposted path: a rough 4x4 track from the Heinabergslón road leads towards the fall; otherwise on foot from the Fláajökull (6 km gravel) or Heinabergslón car parks, or on the packraft and glacier-hike tours from Hotel Smyrlabjörg
• First climbed as a WI 4 ice route on 30 January 2019 (Icelandic Alpine Club)
• Unbridged glacial rivers, moraine and bog; no facilities or mobile coverage at the fall

Why visit Bólstaðafoss waterfall

Most of the waterfalls people stop at in Southeast Iceland are beside the Ring Road. Bólstaðafoss is different: it hangs in a mountain cirque between two glaciers, with the outwash plains of Fláajökull spread out below and icebergs drifting on the lagoons on either side.

The fall comes off the Háls ridge (the name means "neck" or "col"), a long rock rib that the place-name register lists just south of the fall, and the grassy patches at its foot carry names ending in -torfa, "turf", such as Miðfossatorfa, "the middle waterfall turf".

The cliff is layered flood basalt, the same stacked lava flows that build all of the Hornafjörður mountains, and the water steps down the ledges rather than falling free, which is why it reads as three drops. In winter the whole face freezes.

The Icelandic Alpine Club (Ísalp) lists Bólstaðafoss as a grade WI 4 ice climb, steepest at the top, first climbed on 30 January 2019 by Einar Rúnar Sigurðsson, Óskar Arason and Rory Harrison, with a second route, Óvænta akkerið (WI 3), up the gully just to its west.

The surrounding landscape shows recent glacier retreat clearly. Fláajökull reached its greatest extent in 1894, at the end of the Little Ice Age, and has retreated about 2 km in the last hundred years, leaving moraines, a growing lagoon and the Hólmsá meltwater river. Reindeer are often seen on these lowlands, especially in winter.

How to get to Bólstaðafoss waterfall

Bólstaðafoss is about 435 km from Reykjavík by Route 1, around 6 to 6.5 hours' driving without stops, and about 30 minutes' drive west of Höfn. From the Ring Road, the Fláajökull side road turns north between the farms Hólmur and Lambleiksstaðir and runs about 6 km on gravel to the national park car park at the glacier.

A second approach starts at Haukafell campsite, 20-30 km west of Höfn, where a footpath of a little over 2 km leads towards the glacier. Heinabergslón, on the other side of the ridge, is reached by an 8 km gravel road that leaves Route 1 between Skálafell and Flatey; its car park is about 3 km from the fall.

About 5 km along that road a fork to the right passes the ruins of the old Heinaberg farm and heads towards Bólstaðafoss; the national park says this track is hard for ordinary cars and recommends a 4x4.

The waterfall itself has no signposted path. The national park's marked trail J2 (Heinabergslón to Fláajökull, 8.3 km, 5-6 hours, rated challenging) runs between the two lagoons along the foot of the Heinabergsfjöll, on the same side of the ridge as the fall, so check the park map for the exact line.

The guided packraft and glacier-hike tours drive guests about 20 minutes in a 4x4 along a gravel track from Hotel Smyrlabjörg, then walk a mossy, rocky path of roughly 2 km for 30 minutes to 1.5 hours past Bólstaðafoss to the lagoon at the glacier edge.

If you go on your own, use the Fláajökull or Heinabergslón car parks, carry a map and GPS, and expect uneven moraine, boggy ground and uphill sections. The national park warns that there is no bridge over the Hólmsá river at Fláajökull and advises against crossing it. In winter the gravel tracks may be impassable without a 4x4.

Best time to visit

June to September is the hiking season, when the tracks are open, the moss is green and the lagoon tours run. Water volume is highest in early summer with snowmelt.

For ice climbing, the fall forms in cold spells from December to February, but conditions vary from year to year and the approach is only for experienced, equipped parties. Autumn gives clear air and the chance of reindeer on the flats.

Safety and practical tips

• This is remote terrain inside Vatnajökull National Park with no facilities, signs or mobile coverage at the fall. Tell someone your plan.
• Do not approach the glacier edge or walk on the ice without a guide; calving and crevasses are real risks.
• Glacial rivers here, including the Hólmsá, are unbridged and must not be forded on foot.
• Footing is loose rock, wet moss and bog. Wear boots and bring poles.
• Weather off Vatnajökull changes in minutes; carry wind and rain layers in summer.
• No fee. The only toilet is a chemical toilet at the Heinabergslón car park, open year-round. The nearest services are at Hotel Smyrlabjörg (west), Haukafell campsite and Höfn (east). Overnight stays are not allowed at the Fláajökull car park.