Dettifoss Waterfall

The Dettifoss waterfall is thought to be Iceland as well as Europe's most powerful waterfall, with 500 cubic meters of water per second plunge over the edge. Dettifoss is 45 m high and 100m wide and is fed by the powerful glacier river Jökulsá á Fjöllum which flows from the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull.
Dettifoss together with nearby waterfalls and area on the east side of the river were protected in 1996.

It is possible to access the waterfall from both sides of the river. The road on the west side (nr 862) is an asphalted all the way from main road 1 and to the road nr 85 to the north - close to Ásbyrgi. This road has some winter service until end of December and then again from mid-March. Due to weather the road can though easily get closed on short notice during winter time
During winter we advise visitors to check the website of the The Icelandic Road Administration to see the condition of the road as well as the weather prognoses for the area by the Iceland Met Office before setting out for an adventure of the day.
- in addition on can check the FB page: Jökulsárgljúfur - Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður for information about the area by the park officials.
The other road on the east side of the river (nr 864) is a slowly driven gravel road, a road with no winter service at all.

There are toilets by the parking on Dettifoss east side, along road 862, which are open all year.
There are also toilets by the parking on Dettifoss west side, along road 864, but these are only open from mid-June till mid-September.
Camping site is in Vesturdalur by Hljóðaklettar.
A nice hiking trail, 34km, goes along the canyon from Dettifoss to Asbyrgi.

Many wonder from which side of the river on can enjoy the best view of Dettifoss, a question which can be difficult to answer. It can though be said that the new view platforms on the westside give people better access to see a larger part of the falls than from the east side. From the west side the falls can be viewed from upfront instead from the side. This is something each and every one must decide for themselves. The photo above is taken from the west side.

During summer one can make an adventurous circle from Akureyri, with a visit by Lake Mývatn, Hljóðalettar, Ásbyrgi and Húsavík but note this is a large circle and takes more than 4 hours just to drive (310 km) in addition there are all the stops. So plan to start the day early if you intend to do it as a day tour - and be prepared to arrive back to Akureyri late in the evening.