Barnafoss

Take Highway 1 to Route 50 - either south or north of Borgarnes - and follow Route 50 to Route 518 (follow signs toward Reykholt). Follow Route 518 for approximately 23km, then turn left where signs point to Hraunfossar. Follow the trail along the rim of the gorge, passing Hraunfossar, for about 0.2km to the bridge spanning the Hvitá below the falls.Barnafoss is the neighboring waterfall to the much more visible, and much more interesting Hraunfossar. The Hvitá (note that this is not the same Hvitá which forms the much larger and more famous Gullfoss) forms the falls as it sluices through a narrow gorge carved into a lava flow, with a more vertical section of the falls being found near the top, and shallower cascades toward the bottom. At the foot of the falls the river dives beneath at least one natural bridge - or rather a portion of a collapsed lava tube. This is the primary portion of the falls which is visible from the developed viewpoint(s), with the main part of the falls hidden in the gorge around the corner. It should be at least partially visible from adjacent to the developed viewpoints, however the area is signed as closed off to access. Because the whole waterfall was not visible from the main viewpoints, we were not able to accurately measure the whole falls, so the height presented is estimated.Barnafoss in English translates to Children's Falls. The name comes from a story that tells of two local boys who were told to stay at home while their parents went to church for Christmas mass. Growing bored the boys decided to follow their parents by taking a shortcut across a natural arch bridge above the waterfall. In crossing they fell dizzy and fell into the river, never to be seen again. Their mother, distraught, then had the bridge destroyed so nobody else would fall to the same fate. Some variations of the story attribute the bridge's destruction to an earthquake.