Iceland – Brúarárfoss

Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.

On my final day in Iceland I decided to stop by Brúarárfoss, even though it was out of my way, because it was a beautiful day and these cascades appeared to be different than any I’d seen before.  Although they are reached only by driving to the end of a long and rough gravel road,  Brúarárfoss has clearly been ‘discovered’.  A new gravel carpark had been hacked out of the brush, and a food truck anchored one corner.  A short stroll on a bridle path brings visitors to a bridge across the stream, with upstream views of a multi-layer cascade.  Perhaps most notably, the water in the central flow (where the water is deepest) is a bright turquoise color, presumably a result of its glacial source. 

After passing numerous signs warning of Danger, I scrambled down the steep bank below the bridge and waded into a shallow part of the stream. From here I could photograph the cascades at eye level, between the bridge abutments, without distractions.  Well, almost without distractions.  Right next to me a young woman stepped gingerly out over the water, on some dry stones, then tilted her body forward and did a handstand!  She held this pose for a good minute, then (still standing on her hands) did an elegant split.

Her friend used his phone to capture photo and videos.  Beautiful? yes.  Safe? no.  They switched roles.  He tiptoed further out into the stream for his handstand – not as elegantly as she, but far more dangerously, because he was right next to the very deep, very cold, very fast water for which this brook has earned its Danger signs. (At least one person died, swept away in this current.)

Sigh – I encourage you to ignore those risk-taking acrobats and check out the slideshow with three more photos of the waterfall. It is truly beautiful.

Reference: I learned about this place from a guidebook, Photographing Iceland, by Einar Guðmann and Gyða Henningsdóttir; translated by Abigail Charlotte Cooper. JTV útgáfa 2019.