Gjáinfoss

Take Highway 1 east from the city of Selfoss and turn north on to Route 30 (just over 3km west of the bridge over the Þjorsá). Follow Route 30 north for 18.4km then turn right onto Route 32 and continue for another 32km then turn left onto Route 327 immediately after crossing the bridge over the Fossá. Route 329 is rough and unpaved, but permitted for non-4wd vehicles - follow it for 5.7km to the parking area for the Stöng farm. Non-4wd vehicles will have to park here. A trail leads upstream along the stream for just over a kilometer to a promontory overlooking the waterfalls, and intersects the road again shortly after. Those with a 4wd vehicle can continue driving up the (now designated F327) road for another 1.4km, taking the first left, to another parking area which provides easier access to the stairs which lead down to the base of the waterfalls.The Gjáin valley is an area which features some very interesting attractions, but is somewhat lacking in the waterfall department. The stream Rauðá flows through a rift zone and drops over several small waterfalls, met with several small spring-fed streams which bubble out of the ground and produce waterfalls of their own. One of the larger of the spring-fed streams drops over a formally unnamed (as far as we know) waterfall of about 40-feet in height, and immediately at its base its stream is engorged significantly by another spring which contributes to the plunge pool. A short distance downstream where this unnamed stream merges with the Rauðá is a second fall of about 25 feet where the collective waters cascade down uniquely channeled sluice-like fall, with a third spring-fed stream merging in at its base. Adjacent to the two waterfalls described here is a third waterfall which occurs along the Rauðá itself, known as Gjárfoss (see link below for more about that fall itself). The area around these waterfalls is not only geologically unique, but also historically significant. About 15-minutes downstream from the falls is the restored Stöng farm, which was destroyed in an eruption from the nearby Hekla volcano in the year 1100. Near the waterfalls in the Gjáin area are several other relics of the early settlement, including several stone walls set inside caves and overhangs in the rock formations near several of the springs. Note that the road used to access the Gjáin area is classified as an F-Road, which means that non high-clearance 4wd rental cars are not allowed on the road, so if you aren't driving an appropriate vehicle you will need to walk in.For the purpose of listing in this database, we are using the name Gjáinfoss to refer to the prominent waterfall on the unnamed stream on the right side of the Gjáin valley, as well as the small cascading waterfall found at the confluence of the three major streams in the area. We do not know if this waterfall has an official name, but referring to it (or all of the waterfalls in the area in some cases) as Gjáinfoss seems to be fairly accepted.