The Waterfall circle hike can be considered as one of the “off the beaten path destinations” in Iceland. It is about a 5-mile (8 km) path with multiple waterfalls. It starts from a place called Laugarfell, about 76km east from Egilsstaðir. Laugarfell is home to a small hostel and 2 geothermal springs. It is located far enough from other major attractions that, as a result, is not as crowded.
The hike’s trailhead starts from the hostel and since it is a circle it ends at the hostel as well. To get started, we just went over the fence on the far end of the parking lot. Overall, the hike is very easy, there were no significant ascents but the path was very wet in many places, so waterproof hiking boots were a big plus.
First couple of waterfalls are small and not really interesting, so we didn’t spend a lot of time on them.
The first major waterfall is called Stuðlafoss. The water is falling between basalt columns. It is not tall but has several cascades, and that makes it look much taller. Overall, a very pretty waterfall.
Soon after Stuðlafoss, we encountered 2 more waterfalls, one of them is called Faxi. In order to see it, you need to cross the bridge over a smaller waterfall and follow a short path down to Faxi.
After Faxi we hiked for some time before we saw another waterfall. Again, it was mostly an easy walk on flat land except for very wet grass. Fortunately, part of the walk on the wet grass was covered by wooden boards, but not all of it.
Finally, almost at midnight, we made it to our last stop – Kirkjufoss. It is a magnificent waterfall, especially in the evening with the mountains as a backdrop.
By the time we returned to Laugarfell it was long past midnight but it was not dark.
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