Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From the car park the path climbs beside the Dynjandisá, with the river on your left. It passes a stair of smaller falls: Hundafoss and Hrísvaðsfoss on the paved lower part, then Göngumannafoss, Strompgljúfrafoss and Hæstahjallafoss on a rougher, stony path, with viewing platforms at three of them. It ends at a viewpoint just below the wide veil of Dynjandi, which drops 99 m over layers of lava some 14 to 16 million years old. Come back down the same way.
It is 1.5 km there and back with 114 m of ascent; allow about an hour. The grade is Easy: a short climb, paved at first, then stony and steep in places.
Keep to the path and the platforms, as the rocks by the river are wet with spray and slippery. Overnight stays and fires are not allowed in the protected area, and from 1 May to 15 September drones need a permit. Road 60 over Dynjandisheiði is a high mountain road with limited winter service and can be closed by snow or storms: check umferdin.is before setting off between October and April.
The nature agency charges a service fee of 1,110 ISK for a car with up to five seats, for the day, paid through Parka; it covers the toilets and paths. Strætó route 62 stops here only from June to August.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- Dynjandi drops 99 m over stepped basalt like a veil, about 30 m wide at the top and 60 m at the foot
- Below it the river drops over a string of smaller named falls before it reaches the sea in Arnarfjörður
- The steps are layers of lava some 14 to 16 million years old, left standing when Ice Age glaciers cut the fjords
- The falls have been a protected natural monument since 1981
Getting there
Start: Dynjandi car park. 65.73665, -23.20928
Directions to the start
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.