Europe's Most Powerful Waterfall
- April 17, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
dangaroo from Warsaw, Poland
I've mentioned briefly the magnificence of Dettifoss in a few reviews about Iceland and that's because I found Dettifoss to be the most impressive sight of all. The name translates to "Death Falls" and is very appropriate!
We left from Myvatn in the morning with a Czech couple who had offered to give us a ride there, the first 15 or so km are on rthe Iceland ring and then a sign-post appears and the track becomes off-road, there are two roads in fact, one which is better surfaced but from where the view is poorer. We opted for the bumpier ride!
What's so impressive about Dettifoss is the sheer volume of water that passes through it, the sound and spit are uncomparable to anything in Europe and it really looks very threatening but at the same time admirable - in that you know it could take your life away in seconds if you caught up in it and are relieved to marvel from the sides! When the sun comes up, rainbows appear around the spit which is also a very nice visual effect. The roar of this waterfall will etch your memory forever!
Dettifoss is located in the Jokulsargljufur National Park and the water runs from the Vatnajokull Glacier, collecting water along it's way, a hiking path runs along the side of the river. The waterfall is 44m long and 100 metres wide and deposits 200 m3 of water per second. When you're soaked through from having photos taken nearby and marvelling at it. a short walk south will lead you to Sellfoss, whilst much shorter at 10 metres long and nowhere near as forceful, this is a long piece of rock with several streams of waterfall coming down it and is very pleasant on the eyes.
We tried to continue up the road to Husavik but had to turn around because puddles were too large on the road, it's possible to get up to Dettifoss in a hired car - even if it's against the policies. I would recommend taking off the hub caps though just so as you don't lose them and have to pay for them. I also wouldn't plough on past it with anything other than a 4WD with high ground clearance though.
From journal Natural Wonders of Iceland