Stunning Iceland: The Primordial Beauty of Sigöldugljúfur Canyon

It was raining, the waterfalls were roaring… standing at the edge of the canyon looking down was like looking into Earth’s Jurassic past. The primordial beauty of Sigöldugljúfur canyon is astounding! We saw Sigöldugljúfur Canyon on the second day of our 2 week Iceland road trip, and after every beautiful and different waterfall after that, I said “I still love Sigöldugljúfur Canyon the best.”

The Sigöldugljúfur canyon is in the central Highlands of Iceland and is renowned for all those waterfalls seemingly coming from nowhere out of the earth, the blue water, and the lush green vegetation all set in a lava landscape. Relatively far from major attractions and on a rough gravel road you won’t find any big bus tour groups, or hardly any other people at this still little known site. To get here you must have a 4 wheel drive vehicle as you’ll drive on one of Iceland’s “F” roads.

Hrauneyjafoss waterfalls in Sigöldugljúfur Canyon — Sigöldugljúfur Canyon

The waterfalls in the canyon are often called Hrauneyjafoss (Lava island Falls), sometimes Lekafossar (Leaking Falls), and another name Logrufossar (Beautiful Falls). Sigoldugljufur canyon is often called the Valley of Tears from all those amazing falls pouring into it. Whatever it’s called, these astounding falls weren’t formed until the power plant Sigoldustod was built in the 1970’s with the formation of the Krokslon reservoir. Overflowing water from the resevoir runs into the canyon and the water leaks through the lava cliffs falling into the river below. What a sight!

Blame it on jet lag (it was our second day in Iceland with a 7 hour time difference from the Pacific Northwest), but after the amazing Sigöldugljúfur canyon and on the way back we didn’t hike out to the waterfall Sigöldufoss, the waterfall that powers the plant. It’s north of Sigöldugljúfur canyon and we passed the access road both going to and coming from the canyon. But there was plenty more to see in this days adventure! And a 4-wheel drive vehicle made all the difference.

How do you get here?

If you want to drive on the “F” roads in Iceland, you are required to have a 4-Wheel Drive vehicle. At every F-Road we encountered there was a warning sign, letting you know that driving with a 2 wheel drive was not allowed on that road.

We were staying in Fludir, and the canyon was about 1.5 hours away from our hotel.

Even in the rain I loved this canyon with all those amazing waterfalls. In the two weeks Mike and I were road tripping on the Ring Road, if I were ever to come back to Iceland I’d love to spend more time in the interior away from the tourist bus crowds. This place was magical.