Klifbrekkufossar

In the city of Egilsstaðir, turn off Highway 1 on to Route 92 where signs point to Seyðisfjörður and Reyðarfjörður. Follow Route 92 for 8-1/2km and then turn left onto Route 953. Follow Route 953 for another 16-1/2km to where the a sign notes the falls to the right of the road, after descending a long, steep section of switchbacks in the road. Note that while Route 953 does not require 4wd to travel on, it is steep, narrow, and route in places so having a 4wd vehicle would be advantageous.Klifbrekkufossar is among Iceland's tallest waterfalls, but it generally isn't recognized as such both due to its out-of-the-way location and because it is comprised of several distinct steps, which visually doesn't allow for favorable comparison to many of the other tall waterfalls in the country. The falls are situated along the stream Fjarðará which cascades to the sea at the head of Mjólfjörður southeast of the city of Egilsstaðir. The small drainage basin above the falls gathers water from a multitude of runoff streams and a few small lakes, and produces a surprisingly significant volume of water which bounds down the headwall of the fjord, dropping around 300 feet in at least 6-tiers (possibly as many as 9) in stair-step fashion. We were not able to measure the falls accurately due to the distances involved, but no individual tier appears to drop more than 75 feet. The stream twists left and right between each step, such that perhaps as much as half of the falls is hidden by various cliffs and ledges when viewed from below. Trails appear to climb up along side at least part of the falls, but we did not have time to investigate in depth.