Svartifoss

Hundafoss is accessed from the visitor center at Skaftafell National Park, which is found two kilometers off of Highway 1, either 66km east of the roundabout in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, or 54km west of Jökulsárlón - the turn off is well signed. From the visitor center, follow the well marked Svartifoss trail past the camping area, then branching to the right and up stairs. After 1.6km of moderate hiking Svartifoss will come into view at a distance from a knoll along the rim of the gully harboring the creek. Continuing downhill for another two-tenths of a kilometer will bring you to the footbridge below the falls, with a rocky path leading up the right side of the creek to the best view at the base of the falls. Please heed the signs around the falls and do not enter the fragile areas around the falls which are closed off.Svartifoss, found in Skaftafell National Park, is easily one of Iceland's most famous waterfalls, but less due to the quality of the waterfall itself and more because of the spectacular columnar basalt formations in the cliff which forms the amphitheater which the falls plunge into. Svartifoss is formed as the Bærjargil flows over an undercut cliff and plunges a sheer, uninterrupted 65-feet into hexagonal shaped boulders which have cleaved off the surrounding undercut cliff. Though the Bærjargil is not a large stream by any means, it does swell to a much larger size while the winter snow is melting, and the falls will become considerably more impressive at such time. When we visited in late August the volume was considerably reduced.
The columnar basalt formation all around the falls is perhaps the best example of columnar jointing in all of Iceland, and is one of the most famous examples of the phenomena on earth - grouped favorably among locations such as Devil's Postpile in California, Devil's Tower in Wyoming, and Giant's Causeway in Ireland (among many other locations). This distinction has lead Svartifoss to be a popularly sought after location for landscape photographers, frequently appears in calendars featuring waterfalls, and is among the most recognizable waterfalls on earth in following.The name of this waterfall translated to english is Black Falls.