Goðafoss
Interesting facts
- Depending on where it is measured, the drop of Goðafoss ranges from about 9 to 17 metres.
- It is among the most water-rich falls in Iceland, splitting into two main cascades and a varying number of smaller ones as the river rises and falls.
- The gorge below the falls is cut into an ancient lava flow that covers the entire floor of the Bárðardalur valley.
- A short way downstream, a second, lower waterfall called Geitafoss drops within the same gorge.
- Place-name scholar Svavar Sigmundsson suggests the name may come from two crags at the falls that resemble pagan idols.
- Þorgeir, the lawspeaker linked to the falls, lived at Ljósavatn nearby and is said to have lain under a cloak for a day before announcing his ruling on Christianity.
- A stained-glass window in Akureyrarkirkja, the main church of Akureyri, depicts the legend of the idols cast into the falls.
- An Icelandic steamship built in Denmark in 1921 was named Goðafoss after the waterfall.
- That ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Reykjanes in November 1944 and sank within minutes, with 25 people lost.
Why it is worth it
Goðafoss is not the highest or the most powerful waterfall in Iceland, but it may be the most perfectly shaped. The river Skjálfandafljót drops about 12 metres over a curved rim roughly 30 metres wide, splitting into broad white curtains around rocky outcrops before gathering again in a deep blue-green pool. Seen from the banks, the falls form an almost classical arc, and the cleanness of the shape is what makes them memorable.
The name can be read two ways in Icelandic, as "waterfall of the gods" or "waterfall of the chieftain", and a famous story ties it to one of the turning points of Icelandic history. Around the year 1000, the chieftain Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði played the decisive part at the Althing in making Christianity the official religion of Iceland. According to the popular tale, on his way home he threw the carvings of his old gods into the falls. Historians note that no early source records the gesture, and the story in its familiar form was published only in the late nineteenth century; Þorgeir's role in the conversion, however, is genuine.
The falls lie right beside the main ring road, and a walking loop of about three kilometres circles the area, giving views from above, from the side and close to the water. In 2020 Goðafoss was placed under formal protection. Its reputation rests less on size than on proportion, and on how close the path brings you to the edge.
Getting there
Goðafoss is on Route 1, the ring road, about 25 km east of Akureyri as the crow flies, roughly 45 minutes by car. Akureyri Airport (AEY) is about 24 km away. Most visitors arrive by car or on tours from Akureyri.
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From the encyclopaedia
Goðafoss is a waterfall in northern Iceland. It is located along the country's main ring road at the junction with the Sprengisandur highland road, about 45 minutes from Akureyri. The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 metres over a width of 30 metres. A 1.8-mile hiking trail loops around the waterfall area.
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