Gullfoss Waterfall, Iceland

The Woman Who Walked to Reykjavik Barefoot to Save This Waterfall

In the early 1900s, an English investor named Howell secured a lease on the land around Gullfoss and made plans to build a hydroelectric plant. The farmer who owned the land, Tomas Tomasson, had not fully understood what he was signing. His daughter, Sigridur Tomasdottir (1871-1957), did understand. She walked barefoot to Reykjavik multiple times, a journey of around 120 kilometres each way, to petition for the waterfall’s protection. She hired a lawyer (Sveinn Bjornsson, who later became Iceland’s first president) with her own savings and threatened to throw herself into the falls if construction began. Howell eventually abandoned the project in 1929. Gullfoss became state property in 1979 and has been a protected nature conservation site ever since. A sculpture of Sigridur stands near the waterfall. Most of the tour buses stop at the viewpoint and leave without anyone mentioning her name.

The Waterfall Itself

Gullfoss (Golden Falls) drops in two stages into the Hvita River canyon: the first tier falls 11 metres and the second tier falls 21 metres, with the river then turning at a right angle into a canyon roughly 70 metres deep. At peak summer flow, the falls carry around 140 cubic metres of water per second. The spray, which is considerable in any season, catches the light on sunny days to produce rainbows along the canyon edge.

The name “Golden Falls” is usually attributed to the golden-brown colour of the glacial meltwater from the Langjokull glacier upstream. The canyon the river has cut is not visible until you are almost at the edge, which means the waterfall appears abruptly and at full volume.

Entry is free. The falls are accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Parking at the site is also free. The visitor centre, cafe, and toilets operate roughly 9:30am to 6:30pm in summer and have shorter hours in winter.

Getting There

Gullfoss is 125 kilometres east of Reykjavik on Route 35. By car, the drive takes around 90 minutes from the city centre. The road is well-maintained and accessible year-round, though winter driving on Icelandic roads requires appropriate tyres and caution.

If you are not renting a car, Reykjavik Excursions and several other operators run Golden Circle bus tours that include Gullfoss. These typically depart from the Reykjavik city centre and BSI Bus Terminal daily and cost around ISK 9,000-14,000 (roughly USD 65-100). Tours run year-round but check schedules in the shoulder and winter months as frequencies drop.

The Viewing Experience

The upper platforms near the visitor centre give a clear panoramic view of both tiers and the canyon. These are paved and accessible. The lower path descends closer to the water and into the spray zone; it is frequently wet and in winter is often closed due to ice. Waterproof jackets are sensible regardless of weather, as the spray extends to the upper platforms on windy days.

The summer crowds arrive with the tour buses from around 10am. Early morning arrival (before 9am) gives you the falls essentially alone. If you are staying overnight in the area, this is worth planning around. Visitors doing the full Golden Circle in a day from Reykjavik typically reach Gullfoss around midday, having started with Thingvellir in the morning.

The Golden Circle Context

Gullfoss sits at the eastern end of the Golden Circle route. Geysir geothermal area (home to the Strokkur geyser, which erupts approximately every 5-10 minutes) is 10 minutes west on Route 35. Thingvellir National Park, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are visibly diverging and where Iceland’s original parliament met from 930 CE, is around 50 minutes further west. The three together make a very full day. Doing them in the reverse order (Thingvellir first, then Geysir, then Gullfoss) means you arrive at Gullfoss later in the afternoon, when a portion of the day-trip coaches have already left.

Fridheimaur restaurant, 30 minutes west of Gullfoss near Reykholt, is worth noting: it operates inside a working geothermal greenhouse that grows tomatoes year-round, and the menu is almost entirely tomato-based. It is popular enough that booking ahead is advisable.

Where to Stay Near Gullfoss

Staying overnight near Gullfoss or Geysir rather than commuting from Reykjavik is a genuinely better way to experience the waterfall. Hotel Geysir sits adjacent to the geothermal area and has a good in-house restaurant. Several farm guesthouses and smaller hotels operate on the farms between Geysir and Gullfoss. The advantage is having the waterfall in early morning light with almost no other visitors.

If you stay in Reykjavik, most accommodation is clustered in the city centre. The drive to Gullfoss takes 90 minutes; allow time for the Golden Circle sites and the return trip.

Seasonal Considerations

Summer (June to August) offers the longest daylight (midnight sun around the solstice) and the most water volume in the falls. It is also the peak crowd period.

Winter visits trade crowds for very different visual conditions: the canyon mists freeze on the surrounding rocks in complex ice formations, the water moves under ice shelves at the edges, and the falls operate against a backdrop of occasional snow. Daylight is around 4-6 hours in December and January. Northern lights are possible on clear nights anywhere away from Reykjavik’s light pollution, including the Gullfoss area. Icelandic winter roads require winter tyres; rental companies in Reykjavik handle this automatically for winter rentals.

September and October sit in a useful middle position: reasonable daylight, possible early aurora sightings, and crowds dropping off significantly after the August peak. The Golden Circle is at its least crowded in October and March.