Hengifoss
Interesting facts
- The name Hengifoss means the Hanging Falls, a fair description of the thin ribbon of water spilling over the lip of the plateau.
- The red stripes owe their colour to iron in the old clay layers, which oxidised between the basalt flows much like rust.
- Litlanesfoss, the lower fall on the same path, is also known as Stuðlabergsfoss, the Basalt Column Falls.
- The gorge is shared by two farms, privately owned Melar and state-owned Hjarðarból; the path and car park lie on Melar's land.
- The little birch and rowan grove inside the gorge covers only about half a hectare, hemmed in by cliffs yet still reachable by people and sheep.
Why it is worth it
Hengifoss drops about 128 metres from the edge of the highland plateau into a deep, round bowl of rock, and what makes it unforgettable is the wall behind it: dark basalt banded with thin, brick-red stripes, layer upon layer, like the pages of a geological book standing on end. It is the third highest waterfall in Iceland and the best known sight of the east of the country, set in the gorge of the Hengifossá river on the north side of the valley of Fljótsdalur, just beyond the head of the long lake Lagarfljót.
The red bands are what remains of ancient soils and lake sediments laid down between successive lava flows late in the Tertiary period, when Iceland's climate was much warmer than today. In these layers geologists have found lignite and the compressed trunks and roots of trees, including conifers that could not survive in the present climate. The softer sediment beneath the hard basalt is part of the reason the falls formed here at all. Above Hengifoss the river makes two more, smaller, unnamed drops before reaching the edge of the plateau.
The walk up the gorge is part of the experience. A path climbs from the valley floor for about 2.5 km each way, gaining some 300 metres in height, and halfway up it passes Litlanesfoss, a lower fall of 20 to 25 metres framed by columns of jointed basalt more than 10 metres tall, among the tallest such columns in Iceland. Further down the gorge lies a small sheltered grove of birch and rowan, and near its mouth stands an old stone sheep-fold last used in the autumn of 1901. From the upper part of the path the view opens over the wooded valley of Fljótsdalur and the lake below. Hengifoss is protected as a natural monument.
Getting there
The falls are in Fljótsdalshreppur in East Iceland, about 30 km south-west of the town of Egilsstaðir, the main centre of the region; Akureyri, the nearest large town in the north, is about 160 km away in a straight line. Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS), with domestic flights from Reykjavík, is about 31 km away. A car park at the foot of the gorge marks the start of the path.
Plan your visit
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Nearby places
- Stuðlagil 21.0 km · gorge
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From the encyclopaedia
Hengifoss is the third highest waterfall in Iceland, 128 meters. It is located in Hengifossá in Fljótsdalshreppur, East Iceland. It is surrounded by basaltic strata with thin, red layers of clay between the basaltic layers. Fossilized trunks of coniferous trees, sensitive to cold, and lignite, which depict warmer climates during the latter part of Tertiary. Further down the Hengifossá river is Litlanesfoss, notable for the columnar jointed volcanics around it. Hengifoss is the most popular hiking site in East Iceland with path leading from the parking lot to the falls. It takes 40–60 minutes to walk to the waterfall.
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