Europe’s most powerful waterfall is without question the Dettifoss in northeast Iceland. It is intimidating to see the vast masses of water falling many meters into the gorge, especially when standing at the edge of the drop-off and being surrounded by the spray cloud.
The river Jökulsá á Fjöllum flows from the Vatnajökull glacier through the canyon Jökulsárgljúfur into the Arctic Sea. The sound of Dettifoss can be heard already on the car park. The water is not crystal clear, but rather milky – this is due to the sediment which is a type of rock. The hike to the waterfall takes about 20–30 minutes.
Often the Goðafoss Waterfall and Dettifoss are compared; one is called “The Beauty”, the other “The Beast”.
But this giant is absolutely unique, the masses of rock and water falling down there per second take your breath away. Also, the gorge where the waterfall is located is an eye-catcher; one step too far and it goes 100 meters down – thrill and fear are close together.
There are two ways to approach the Dettifoss; one from the east, the other from the west. We decided to go only to the east and hiked a pretty well-marked path down to the waterfall with an intimidating view into the Jökulsárgljúfur gorge. On the way to Dettifoss we had many angles to look at and photograph it.
However, as there are no barriers on site, one should be really careful. One can quickly underestimate the masses of water and also the slippery stones can quickly become one’s undoing.
As one can walk up to the beginning of the waterfall, the “viewing platform” is very wide and one has many possibilities to avoid the crowds.
