The waterfalls on the way to Studlagil Canyon
Nobody books a canyon tour for the waterfalls, yet most of these days stop at one or two of them. Two are regular stops on the tours from the port, and a small one hides on the walk into the canyon itself. A fourth is among the tallest in Iceland and needs a car plus a spare afternoon.
Four falls around one canyon
The road from Seyðisfjörður to the canyon you will see spelled both Stuðlagil and Studlagil runs past more falling water than most visitors expect. East Iceland is built from stacked layers of lava, and rivers drop off the edges of those layers all over the region. Four falls matter for a canyon day. Two are stops on the tour itineraries and one sits on a walking path inside the canyon. The fourth needs its own detour.
| Waterfall | Height | Where | On which tours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rjúkandi | Tall, in several tiers | Beside Route 1 in Jökuldalur, a short walk from the road | Tanni Travel and Saga Travel; Magic Iceland Travel; Marina Travel if time allows |
| Gufufoss | About 90 feet (27 m) | On the Fjarðará river just outside Seyðisfjörður | BusTravel Iceland and Saga Travel; Magic Iceland Travel; both puffin tours |
| Stuðlafoss | Small | Beside the east-bank trail into the canyon | Tanni Travel's two hikes |
| Hengifoss | About 420 feet (128 m) | Fljótsdalur, 40–60 minutes' walk up from the car park | None on this site; drive yourself |
Rjúkandi, right beside Route 1
Rjúkandi drops down the green side of Jökuldalur in a series of tiers, close enough to Route 1 that the walk from the road to a good view takes a few minutes. That makes it the easy stretch-your-legs stop on the way to the canyon, and most tours use it. Magic Iceland Travel's canyon and reindeer tour, from ~$212, gives it about 20 minutes. Tanni Travel stops there on both of its hikes, including the small-group hike from ~$328, and so does Saga Travel. Marina Travel's private car adds it if time allows. Rock near falling water is usually wet from the spray, so watch your footing.
Gufufoss, the last stop before the ship
Gufufoss falls about 90 feet (27 m) on the Fjarðará river just outside Seyðisfjörður, so tours usually see it on the way back to the port. BusTravel Iceland's shore excursion, from ~$224, has it on the listing, and so do Saga Travel and Magic Iceland Travel, Magic again with about 20 minutes. One Tanni Travel group had enough spare time for a bonus stop there, and a reviewer of Marina Travel's private tour stopped too. The catch on the bigger coaches is time. BusTravel gives the canyon itself only about an hour, and one reviewer said they would have traded a waterfall stop for longer at the columns.
Two tours on this site use Gufufoss without going to the canyon at all. BusTravel Iceland's puffin and Gufufoss tour, from ~$224, pairs the fall with the puffins at Borgarfjörður eystri, but it never reaches Stuðlagil and the birds are only there from roughly mid April to mid August. Magic Iceland Travel's puffin and reindeer day, from ~$247, ends at Gufufoss after a reindeer park and a village with a turf house. It shares the catch of no canyon, on a coach of up to 57. Our guide to other East Iceland day trips sets them against a canyon day.
Two waterfalls and the canyon rim
Saga Travel stops at Rjúkandi on the way out and calls at Gufufoss on the way back, with time on the west-side viewing platforms in between, in 5–6 hours from ~$231. There is no planned lunch break, so pack snacks.
Stuðlafoss, inside the canyon walk
The smallest of the four has the finest setting. Stuðlafoss drops through a frame of basalt columns on the east bank, on the round-trip walk of about 3 miles (5 km) that descends to the canyon floor. Of the tours on this site, only Tanni Travel's two hikes schedule that walk, so it is the hikers who pass it. Marina Travel's private tour may include a walk at the canyon, so ask which one. Self-drivers who park on the east side meet it on the way in. Our guide to the east and west banks explains what each side offers.
Hengifoss, for drivers with an afternoon
Hengifoss is one of Iceland's highest falls at about 420 feet (128 m), and the cliff behind it shows thin red layers of clay between the dark bands of basalt. It lies in Fljótsdalur, the valley at the head of Lagarfljót, and the path climbs for 40–60 minutes from the car park. On the way up you pass Litlanesfoss, a smaller fall set in columns much like the walls of the canyon. Allow a couple of hours for the walk up and back, plus the drive. No tour on this site goes there, so it only fits a day with your own car; driving to Studlagil on your own covers the roads in the area.
Photos at the falls
Spray carries a long way at a big fall, and on a windy day it reaches the lens before you see it. Keep a soft cloth in a pocket and wipe between shots. The rocks near the water stay wet and slippery even on dry days, so stay on the paths and leave the ledge to the birds. Cloud is less of a problem for waterfalls than for the canyon's water color, since flat light keeps the white water from burning out. On a coach stop of about 20 minutes, take the wide view first and the details after. Our list of what to wear and bring covers the rain layers too.
Which tour for waterfall lovers
If falls matter to you, two tours list both Rjúkandi and Gufufoss on the same day. Saga Travel pairs them with the west-side platforms, and Magic Iceland Travel with the reindeer park. Tanni Travel's hikers get Rjúkandi on the way in and Stuðlafoss on the walk itself, which is the closest view of columns and falling water together. BusTravel's listing names Gufufoss, though some reviewers mention photo stops at two waterfalls. Whichever you choose, the falls keep running through the cruise season, unlike the blue of the river described in when the river runs turquoise. The columns at Litlanesfoss and Stuðlafoss formed the same way as the canyon walls, as our page on how the canyon formed explains, and our comparison of Iceland's column sites sets Litlanesfoss beside Svartifoss and the rest. For a soak after all that spray, see the canyon with an afternoon at Vök Baths.