The Golden Falls, more commonly known in its Icelandic translation as Gullfoss, is a waterfall located in the Golden Circle and one of the most visited sites in the entire country. Fun fact: Gullfoss is the focal point of the music video for a song I love, “Heaven” by the band Live.
Some say the waterfall gets its name because of its location along the Hvítá River, the waters flowing from the glacier Langjökull look golden brown because of the heavy flow filled with sediments on some evenings. Another legend has it that a farmer named Gygur had plenty of gold and couldn’t bear the thought of someone else having it after he died, so he threw the gold into the waterfall!
Two parking lots lead to the falls. Accessing the waterfall from the lower lot is quicker, but the walk from top lot just a few minutes longer and is equipped with a visitors center (including a free restroom), café, and exhibit.
Either way, it won’t take more than a few minutes to get to the end of the trail, and you can see the waterfall from above without walking much at all, where it seemingly disappears into an abyss.
Where the trails converge there is a staircase descending into the mist to get a better look. A waterproof jacket is greatly appreciated along this short and windy walk to avoid getting soaked from the trail of mist!
When you round the bend you can finally see where the water goes, it takes a sharp turn and flows into a 69 foot crevice, roaring through the deep and narrow Gullfossgjúfur canyon.
Continuing towards the end of the path you can get up close and personal with the top of the two-tiered waterfall.
The top falls cascade 36 feet with tremendous power. A natural sight of this proportion can create passionate emotions, and the story of a determined woman who dearly loved this place from the early 1900s is very moving. The land that the waterfall is on was owned by a sheep farmer. A foreign investor wished to harness the energy of Gullfoss for electricity. The farmers daughter Sigríður was very much against this, having worked the land and laid down the first paved road to the waterfall.
She saved her money up to hire a lawyer (who later became the first president of Iceland) and walked barefoot over 60 miles to the capital, several times, to fight for her beliefs. She even threatened to throw herself into the falls to stop construction, but it never did come to that. In 1929 with financial difficulties, the investor pulled out, and today Sigríður is recognized as Iceland’s first environmentalist.