Háifoss

Despite being easy to access, finding Háifoss is actually a bit of a task due to poor signage (at least as of August 2014). 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 43km then turn left onto an un-numbered gravel road where a sign points to a guesthouse (there had apparently been a sign marking Háifoss in the past, but it was not there when we visited). If you pass the power plant and cross the Þjorsá you've gone 5.5km too far. On the gravel road, drive 500m then bear right - here there is a sign marking the falls - and continue for another 6.6km, then turn left again where a sign points to the falls, to the parking area in another 500m. The road to the falls is rough and while it did not appear to be classified as an F road (restricted for non 4wd-vehicles) it should be driven very carefully. From the parking area, a short trail leads along the rim of the canyon for 500m to the best views of the falls. Additionally, it is possible to hike about 8km to the base of the falls from Stöng (see link to Gjáinfoss below).Háifoss is a moderate to high volume waterfall found along the Fossá as it plunges from a high plateau into a massive canyon to meet the valley of the Þjorsá further downstream. The river actually splits into two channels about 4/5th of a kilometer upstream from the falls, and when they reach the rim of the canyon, form two side-by-side waterfalls. The larger volume channel creates Háifoss, which takes the form of a nearly sheer plunge of 396-feet in height, and the smaller volume channel is individually known as Granni ("The Neighbor" in Icelandic). A smaller series of cascades occur about half of a kilometer upstream from the top of Háifoss, the majority of which cannot be seen in tandem with the falls. Because the Fossá is a river of signficant size, the segmenting of the stream does not impact the quality of either waterfall. During the spring and early summer months when the winter snow is melting at its fastest rate, both falls swell to impressive volumes and create a surround-sound roar which echoes throughout the canyon. Until recently Háifoss was considered to be the second tallest waterfall in Iceland, but with the "discovery" of Morsárfoss near Skaftafell it was bumped to third by most conventions. However, upon our trip to Iceland in August 2014 we found this to be inaccurate, as there are actually a number of waterfalls which are taller in terms of overall height. With the data we currently have Háifoss places 9th on the list, with its sibling Granni coming in 7th (it could be argued that by counting the cascades upstream of Háifoss, it would actually be the taller of the two, but the distance between the falls and cascades was too great, we felt). This does not take into account the literally dozens and dozens (if not hundreds) of small volume waterfalls which can be seen stair-stepping down mountainsides throughout the more rugged parts of the country.Háifoss translated to english literally means High Falls - an uncreative but certainly an apt name for the falls, however its pronunciation is closer to "HAU-i-foss". Apparently the falls were not named at all until some time in the late 20th century (we'd guess the early 1980s, but have not been able to find an exact date).