Gullfoss Waterfall: The Complete Visitor Guide

Gullfoss — the "Golden Falls" that gave the Golden Circle its name — is a thundering, two-tiered waterfall that plunges 32 metres into a rugged glacial canyon. It's also a monument to one of Iceland's great acts of conservation. This guide covers everything about Gullfoss specifically: its formation, its history, its viewpoints, and exactly how to plan your visit.

If you've read our Complete Golden Circle Guide, you know Gullfoss is the third of the three classic stops, just ten minutes up the road from Geysir. This article goes much deeper into the waterfall itself — the geology, the remarkable woman who saved it, and the practical details for visiting well.

Most travellers reach Gullfoss on a full-day Golden Circle tour. If you'd rather not drive, the route's most popular day trip is the simplest way to see the falls:

Gullfoss at a Glance

Gullfoss sits in the canyon of the glacial river Hvítá in southwest Iceland, fed by meltwater from the Langjökull ice cap. The river takes a sharp turn and drops in two stages — first about 11 metres, then 21 metres — into a deep, narrow gorge, for a total fall of roughly 32 metres. The canyon, known as Gullfossgjúfur, runs about 2.5 km long with walls rising up to 70 metres, carved by glacial floods at the end of the last Ice Age. The name "Golden Falls" is generally thought to come from the golden hue the glacial sediment gives the water when it catches the sunlight, especially in the mist where rainbows frequently appear.

Average flow is around 109 cubic metres of water per second, rising to roughly 140 m³/s in summer as glacial melt peaks and dropping to around 80–109 m³/s in winter — though the highest flood ever recorded reached an extraordinary 2,000 m³/s. Even in winter, the waterfall never fully freezes; instead, the spray and surrounding rock build up into dramatic ice formations while the current keeps flowing beneath.

The History: How Gullfoss Was Saved

Gullfoss isn't just a natural wonder — it's a symbol of Icelandic conservation, and the story behind it is one of the country's most-told tales.

In 1907, an English investor approached local farmer Tómas Tómasson, who owned the land around the falls, hoping to buy Gullfoss outright to build a hydroelectric power station that would have dammed the Hvítá and effectively destroyed the waterfall. Tómas refused to sell — according to popular accounts, declaring "I will not sell my friend" — but later leased the water rights to the investors through an agreement that left the door open for development.

That's where Sigríður Tómasdóttir, Tómas's daughter, enters the story. Having grown up at the family's Brattholt farm and acted as an informal guide for early visitors, Sigríður was determined to stop the project. She spent her own savings hiring a lawyer in Reykjavik, made repeated journeys of around 100–120 km to the capital — on foot, by some accounts barefoot — to press her case through the courts, and is widely said to have threatened to throw herself into the waterfall if construction went ahead. She ultimately lost her legal battle. But the investors' plans collapsed anyway: rental payments stopped in 1928, and the lease was formally cancelled a few years later, sparing Gullfoss from the dam.

Sigríður is remembered today as Iceland's first environmentalist. A stone memorial near the upper viewpoint honours her, and the lower walking path is named Sigríðarstigur — Sigríður's Path — in her memory. In 1940 the land passed to her brother Einar Guðmundsson, who later sold it to the Icelandic state, and in 1979 Gullfoss was formally designated a protected nature reserve. It's a detail many guides love to share: the lawyer who represented Sigríður, Sveinn Björnsson, went on to become the first President of the Republic of Iceland in 1944.

Gullfoss's Two Viewpoints

There are two distinct ways to experience Gullfoss, and most visitors do both.

The upper viewpoint sits beside the visitor centre, reached by a short, paved, gently sloping path of around 400 metres. It's open year-round, fully accessible (suitable for wheelchairs and strollers), and gives you the classic, wide panoramic shot of both cascades dropping into the canyon, with Langjökull glacier sometimes visible on the horizon on clear days. This is the most exposed of the two viewpoints — expect wind even on an otherwise calm day.

The lower viewpoint is reached via a staircase down from the upper area (Sigríður's Path), bringing you close to rock level near the edge of the upper cascade. This is where you feel the waterfall rather than just see it — the ground vibrates underfoot, spray rises around you, and the roar becomes genuinely loud. It's the more dramatic of the two, but the path is steeper, often wet, and frequently closed in winter when ice makes it unsafe; always check conditions at the visitor centre before heading down.

Most visitors spend 30–45 minutes at Gullfoss for a quick stop, or 1–1.5 hours if they want to walk both viewpoints unhurried and visit the café.

Practical Visitor Information

Getting there: From Reykjavik, the most common route follows Route 1 east, then Route 35 north through the Haukadalur valley, covering roughly 116 km (72 miles) — about 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours of driving. Gullfoss is only about 10 minutes' drive from Geysir, making the two a natural pair on any Golden Circle itinerary.

Entrance and parking fees: Unlike Þingvellir and Geysir, which both now charge for parking, Gullfoss remains free to visit with free parking — no entrance fee, no parking fee, no tickets or reservations required. Simply arrive and park. (For the wider picture, see our Golden Circle parking fees guide.)

Hours and access: The waterfall, paths and parking areas are open 24 hours a day, year-round — there are no gates and no official closing time. The only fixed hours belong to the visitor centre itself (café, shop and restrooms), which typically runs from around 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM in summer with shorter hours in winter; always confirm on the day.

Facilities: The visitor centre sits beside the upper parking lot and houses a café and restaurant (known for traditional Icelandic lamb soup, kjötsúpa), a gift shop with wool clothing and local crafts, and restrooms. There's also a smaller lower parking lot with no facilities of its own, linked to the upper area by footpaths — useful as an overflow option when the main lot is full.

Crowds: The busiest window is late morning to mid-afternoon (roughly 10 AM–3 PM), when tour buses from Reykjavik converge here after Þingvellir and Geysir. For a calmer visit and better light, aim for early morning before the buses arrive or after about 4 PM.

What to wear: Bring a genuinely waterproof, windproof jacket — the lower viewpoint in particular will leave you misted, and the open plateau around the falls is exposed to strong gusts year-round. In winter, sturdy boots with good grip (or traction cleats) are essential. See our what to wear packing list for a full seasonal rundown.

Pair Gullfoss with a Hot-Spring Soak

Because Gullfoss sits on the classic loop with Þingvellir and Geysir, it's easy to make a full day of it. This well-reviewed extended tour adds Kerið crater and a soak in the Secret Lagoon to the three core stops — a relaxed way to round out your visit to the falls:

Gullfoss Through the Seasons

Gullfoss looks genuinely different depending on when you visit. In summer, glacial melt pushes the flow to its yearly peak, both viewpoints are open, and the near-24-hour daylight of the midnight sun means there's no bad time of day to go — though this is also peak crowd season. In autumn, flow begins to taper but stays impressive, skies turn moodier for photography, and the lower path typically stays open into September before closing for winter. In winter, the falls frame themselves in ice — spray freezes onto the surrounding rock and the canyon takes on a stark, sculpted look — while the lower viewpoint is usually closed and the upper viewpoint becomes the main vantage point. For a full month-by-month breakdown, see our guide to the best time to visit Iceland.

If you'd rather keep things simple and budget-friendly, this well-reviewed full-day tour covers the classic three stops — including Gullfoss — at one of the lowest prices on the loop:

A Quick Photography Note

The classic Gullfoss shot is the wide-angle view from the upper platform, capturing both tiers and the canyon in a single frame — best in soft morning or late-afternoon light, when rainbows are most likely to appear in the mist on sunny days. For something different, the lower platform delivers a far more visceral, close-range image, though you'll want a lens cloth on hand to wipe away spray between shots. Overcast days work well too: the diffused light and moody sky add atmosphere even without a rainbow.

Other Experiences You Might Enjoy

Gullfoss is rarely visited alone. Travellers commonly pair it with the rest of the Golden Circle (Þingvellir and Geysir), a soak at the Secret Lagoon or Blue Lagoon, snorkelling between tectonic plates at Silfra, glacier snowmobiling on Langjökull, or a South Coast day trip from Reykjavik. Browse top-rated experiences that fit naturally around a visit to Gullfoss: