The best waterfalls in Thjórsárdalur

At the edge of Iceland’s southern highlands, about a 2-hour drive from Reykjavík.

Search in navigation: Háifoss Road conditions can be dangerous. Drive carefully

Háifoss is Iceland’s third-highest waterfall, located near the Hekla volcano. Together with the nearby Granni waterfall, it creates a rare double waterfall landscape. The best time to visit is during summer (mid-June to September). It is a hidden gem with incredible photography opportunities and far fewer crowds compared to the Golden Circle.

After a full day looping through the Golden Circle — the crowds at the geothermal area and the packed parking lots at the big waterfall — Hjálparfoss felt like a completely different Iceland. It's a short detour off the road toward the highlands, and if you have the time, it's absolutely worth pulling over for.

Two streams of the Fossá River tumble down side by side over dark, weathered basalt, landing softly together in a shared pool before the water continues on to meet the much larger, glacier-fed Þjórsá river nearby. The basalt walls curve around the falls almost like a natural amphitheater, and the surrounding lava field — part of one of the largest lava flows on Earth since the last Ice Age — is softened by patches of green highland vegetation.

There was almost no one else there when we visited. Just the sound of water, a bit of wind, and the kind of stillness that's hard to find at Iceland's more famous stops. The near-symmetrical shape of the twin falls makes it an easy, effortless photo spot — no crowds to dodge, no waiting for a gap in the tour buses.