Behind the fall
A water curtain.
Syrio — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Syrio — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bromr — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sw257 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Valdimar Saemundsson — CC BY 3.0
Kvernufoss is a waterfall in South Iceland near the village of Skógar and the famous Skógafoss, about 27 km west of Vík in a straight line. It falls into the Kvernugil canyon on the Kvernuhólsá river, which comes from the meltwater of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier. The waterfall drops over a deeply recessed black basalt shelf, and when the area is free of snow you can walk behind it for a view down the canyon through the curtain of water. Its spray means a single or double rainbow is usually visible on sunny days. Like nearby Skógafoss, the cliff it falls from once overlooked the ocean, before the shoreline retreated after the last ice age. A white column of water slides from the top of a dark, moss-green cliff into a rocky pool at the bottom of a narrow gorge, with a stream running out between rocks and grass. It is far quieter than Skógafoss and hidden from the road. Visitors take a short walk from a car park near Skógar across fields and along the gorge, then approach the fall and pass behind it when conditions allow. The rocks are slippery, so wear good shoes, and pair it with Skógafoss.
A water curtain.
Green moss.
In the spray.
Near Skógar, South Iceland
Yes, when there is no snow.
Skógafoss.
