Adventure of the Seas - Day 4 - Reykjavík, Iceland - Part 2 - Gullfoss Waterfall

After Pingvellir (Thingvellir), we head on to Gullfoss.  The drive was fairly easy to navigate and the roads were largely straight, like this.  I often had to overtake cars. (Alright, I was going quite quickly).

The Highways are 2 lane highways.  The terrain is rather uninviting.  This place must really freeze over during winter.  Right now, this is summer and day-light hours are really long.  As the sun would set only at around midnight, and rise again at around 2:30am, we were not afraid that there would be no light to drive.

The weather didn't look too promising.  I wouldn't want to be driving in the dark here.  Thankfully, the days were very long.

We have reached the parking area for the famous Gullfoss Waterfalls.  It took me about 45 minutes to get here, from Thingvellir.  How fast was I going, you may ask?  Let's just say I was going quite fast.  I shan't write anything here to incriminate my driving, but if you wish to know, you can always drop me an email.

About 10 minutes prior, we passed the Strokkur and Geysir area.  We would head back there later.

We didn't have time to explore the visitor centre.  We were here to see the real thing!

From the parking lot, you had to take this long wooden path to the Waterfalls.  It was rather chilly (after spending all that time in the car) but we were all excited!

This is looking back at the visitor lodge/carpark area.

Uninviting terrain.  We should be thankful for all the trees we have!

You reach this sign, showing you the layout of the walkable areas.

There is another parking area down the hill.  I think the coaches will drop off the tourists at the visitor center (located on the top of the hill) and then pick you up again at the lower level, so that you do not  need to climb up that steep flight of stairs.   Those coaches were from the cruise ship.  So, even though we started our tour much later (because we had to pick up the car), we had caught up with them.

That's Gullfoss!  AWESOMEness.   It is actually two waterfalls.  It may not be the biggest in the world, but it still has its own beauty.

Video

The sign in many languages.  "Gullfoss consists of two waterfalls.  The height of the upper waterfall is 11 metres and that of the lower one is 20 metres.  The total height of Gullfoss is therefore 31 metres)..."

Some information on the Gullfoss gorge.

We were on the top part, looking down.

Here she was, Gullfoss!!

Breath-taking, even on a cloudy day.

To get closer to the waterfall, from the top part (visitor centre), you have to walk down a steep flight of steps (about 50).  Here they are.

That looks scary, doesn't it?

The thing with Gullfoss (and Godafoss in Akureyri) is that we can get really close to the water, on foot.

Awesome.  You could almost jump in for a swim.  Ok, don't try.

Really close.

It is worthwhile to make the trek to the far end, so that you can get as close as possible to the waterfall.

Be warned - the last part, there is this raised rock platform.  It may be a bit difficult to get up and down for some.

Those more physically able, kindly help those less physically able.  Needless to say, this part of the waterfall is NOT wheelchair accessible.

Another angle of the raised rock platform.  It does look like this piece of rock is natural.  See that lady in the brown jacket climbing up?  It is not difficult.  Basically I climbed up first and then helped my wife and kids up.  Then I climbed down first, and helped them down.

The path to the closest part of the waterfall could get slippery.  So, be very careful.

Get a good pair of walking shoes and do not run! (Watch the kids)

Just a shot of the ground.

There were also some carved steps along the way.

Alright, after spending some time at the waterfall, it was time to move on.  We would need to walk back to the car, after climbing those steps.  Next step would be the Strokkur/Geysir area, which was nearby.

Go on to Part 3 - Strokkur/Geysir

Thanks for reading.