07-14-2026 A Day Trip from Akureyri, Iceland Part 3 Goðafoss Falls

 

When Mo first mentioned a cruise to Iceland, I started researching what it might be like to step onto a landscape as mythical as any I could imagine. Yes, the land of fire and ice, but also home to some of the most magnificent waterfalls in the world.

We were still several miles away from the Goðafoss waterfall when I took this photo

The images that captivated me most were those of Goðafoss. The falls looked every bit as grand and iconic as Niagara, perhaps even Victoria Falls in Africa. I have never been to Africa, but Mo and I stood together in awe of Niagara during our cross-country motorhome trip in 2010. I wondered if Goðafoss might stir that same sense of wonder.

This one would be different. It wasn't part of Viking's included excursions, and while Viking does an excellent job with those, none of them visited the waterfall I most wanted to see. My research uncovered an eight-hour bus trip from Akureyri that included four remarkable stops, among them Goðafoss. There was never any question. I booked it.

Looking downstream from the falls

After days of rain and wind, we left the ship prepared with every piece of rain gear we owned. I had spent hours reading about the history of the falls and the geology of the great volcanic rift through which the Skjálfandafljót River flows. But no amount of research could explain what it would feel like to actually stand there.

Looks like something I recognize from Oregon volcanic landscapes

I started up the paved path with my walker, thrilled to discover I could take it all the way to the edge of the falls. The roar grew louder with every step as the river plunged over the broad basalt cliff. My heart pounded with anticipation. 

Sea thrift tucked among the little herbs and forbs along the pathway

Every step became a meditation. Every turn in the path felt like therapy. There was a quiet joy in realizing that my body, for this one precious morning, had given me back a dream I had not been certain I could still manage.

facing away from the river you can see how thin the soils are on the volcanic landscape 

And then I reached the edge of the falls

Somehow, describing what it is like to stand beside Goðafoss takes away from the experience itself. Words cannot carry the deep rumble that rises through the basalt beneath your feet, nor the spray that hangs in the air, nor the immense power of the river as it hurls itself into the gorge below.

Take a look at the photos. Watch the videos. Listen to the roar.

What you hear is not only the voice of the waterfall. It is also the sound of my heart.

 

I made it!

I made it!