One of the first sights I saw upon venturing from Akureyri was the Goðafoss waterfall, roughly a 30 minute drive east of the city. This kicked off my “Myvatn, Mystery and Magic” Game of Thrones tour. Apparently the GoT crew really liked the waterfalls in Iceland and attempted to add some of them into the show. I don’t recall seeing a lot of waterfalls in the episodes, at the very least not any in the North that may be covered in ice, but now I have a reason (one of many more to come I’m sure!) to watch the show all over again. Like I need an excuse!
The walk up from the parking lot to the waterfall was a cool and snowy one. I wore ice cleats (crampons) which made the pathway not as slippery as it looks. It was bitterly windy too, but I found that I was dressed appropriately for the weather and was not cold, except for my fingers when the top half of my gloves were flipped back. The biggest challenge was finding the happy medium between being able to take pictures versus my fingers freezing to death! I probably took way more pictures than necessary though, I mean, how many shots and angles do I need of the same waterfall anyway?? Managed to get a few shots of the river leading from the base of the waterfall as well.
When Christianity became the official religion of Iceland (the year 999 or 1000 according to wikipedia), there is a myth stating that statues of the heathen (Norse) gods were thrown into this waterfall.
2 responses to “Goðafoss: Waterfall of the Gods”
Can’t wait for you to get to Mexico so we can see less snow and warm palm trees.
Hi Gary, I’ve got a few more icy posts still to come! Then fun in the sun 🙂