Benefoss and Icelandic Horses Delight in Northwestern Iceland

 

When you rent a car for your Iceland vacation and keep your itinerary pretty loose, you can veer off course quite often and explore lesser visited locations. By keeping our itinerary pretty open during this last visit, we were able to explore wonders like this beautiful gorge and waterfall near Staður in Northwest Iceland.

The waterfall boldly cascades down between the folds of
a jagged escarpment in northwest Iceland.

While not one of the most frequented waterfalls, the cascade crafts a majestic landscape. Truly, a magnificent discovery on a gravel road off of Route 1 in Iceland near Staður. If you blink, you will miss the road. The road is south of an N1 station. The same road takes you to the Fagrabrekka private rental. Taking a little extra time to navigate to Benefoss is well worth it!

Please check Google Reviews for important updates from the landowner and how to respectfully visit.

Admiring Icelandic Horses

Beautiful Icelandic horses nibbling on a hillside.

Following the gravel road, you will pass a pasture that likely will be filled with lovely Icelandic hesta (horses). Icelandic horses are gentle, majestic beings unique to Iceland. No other breed of horse can come to Iceland nor can any Icelandic horse that has left come back. This keeps the breed pure. Thus, the  Icelandic horse is the closest breed to the horses Vikings rode.

An Icelandic sheep wanders across the river from the trail.

We did find a little parking area. The walk to the waterfall is only about 15-20 minutes. There are a few spots to pause for views. We spotted some Icelandic sheep just across the ravine. 

Discovering The Picturesque Gorge And Cascade

Viewing Benefoss from an observation point.

At one point, we did have to take the ladder to cross a fence. However, overall, the hike was fairly easy.  As we hiked closer to the waterfall, we did take the opportunity to stand at different observation points. You will notice another waterfall in addition to Benefoss -- a sort of silver thread sliding down the escarpment. There is also a third waterfall in the location further downstream.

For us, though, mighty Benefoss was the star. Benefoss appears to fold a bit within the rocks falling into a tranquil pool below. The rocks below the waterfall display an interesting banded pattern. The scene was striking. We were the only observed and had the scene all to ourselves. So peaceful!

Benefoss has become one of our favorite waterfalls in Iceland. I am so glad that we gave ourselves extra time on this trip to slow down and wander beyond the more well-known locations.