Gullfoss Falls are part of the famous Golden Circle of Iceland. Things to do at Gullfoss Falls;
- Upper viewing platform
- Lower viewing platform (Summer only)
- Visitor Center and Cafe
Gullfoss is a 90 minute drive from Reykjavik so it’s easy to visit whilst staying in the capital.
Gullfoss Parking
It’s easy to park at Gullfoss as there is complimentary parking 200 meters from the viewing platforms. In addition, there’s a visitor center in the car park with information, a cafe as well as complimentary and clean bathrooms. Lastly, the visitor center cafe sells delicious cakes if you are looking for a snack.
Gullfoss Waterfall Winter
I recommend you visit Gullfoss Falls after you have visited the other waterfalls on the Golden Circle such as Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss. The reason is because Gullfoss Falls are by far the most beautiful. As a matter of fact, Gullfoss Falls are so impressive that they appeared in the Tom Cruise movie Oblivion.
Upper Viewing Platform
What I am photographing here is 140 cubic meters of water flowing through the crevice every second. The crevice is 2.5 kilometers in length and 20 meters wide. As you can probably imagine, with all this movement going on you can hear the noise long before you can see the falls themselves. The upper viewing platform is quite long so you can photograph the falls from many angles and don’t have to worry about other tourists blocking the view.
Gullfoss Fall Lower Viewing Platform
If you visit the falls in the winter, the lower viewing platform is closed. In fact, it’s covered in snow and ice therefore a little dangerous. If you visit in the summer however, you can view the falls close up from the lower viewing platform. Finally, there is an additional car park adjacent to the lower viewing platform so you can access it very easily.
Best Time to visit Gullfoss Falls
When is the best time to visit the falls? I have looked at pictures taken of Gullfoss during the summer and I prefer how they look during winter in the snow, surrounded by ice. The only negative about visiting in winter is that the lower viewing platform is partly closed due to ice. It can get pretty cold in the winter but you should have come to Iceland in winter prepared for cold weather anyway!
How to get from Gullfoss to Geysir
The drive from to Gullfoss to Geysir is about 10 minutes, as a matter of fact, you probably passed Geysir to get to Gullfoss. Whilst driving watch out for the iconic Icelandic buildings, these photograph well in both winter and summer months.
Such a pretty spot to photograph and something so unusual to see! We are from the deep south in the United States and I’ve never seen anything even close to this! We travel with the kids and it would be awesome to show them a waterfall in the middle of so much snow!
The waterfalls look so beautiful! This place is so nice that it is only 90 minute drive from Reykjavik. I hope I can visit it in my trip to Iceland this May 🙂
I don’t recall seeing any photos of the Gullfoss waterfalls, but your photos are amazingly beautiful. These would be quite the waterfalls to visit; a must see while in Iceland. And I agree, I think they would be more spectacular to visit in the winter time with the ice and snow surrounding them. Thanks for sharing.
I like the fact that you share some very practical travel tips. Gullfoss looks pretty impressive. Now, I have to re-watch Oblivion to spot it. Thanks for sharing that tidbit!
How are these waterfalls even on this planet?! So beautiful! I haven’t seen Oblivion (mainly because Tom Cruise makes me shudder) so obviously didn’t recognise them from that, but now I feel like I might need to watch it just to have a look! Every time I read one of your posts I feel like I learn something new about the planet and some obscure part of it. Two years out of uni and my brain is losing its sponginess, so thanks for keeping it alive 😉
It’s so great to hear that there are cool things to see this close to the capital. I always assumed you had to drive for hours to see some of the famous Iceland sights! I will be adding this to my bucket list 🙂
Oh, I do have a thing for waterfalls! This one is so gorgeous. I haven’t heard of this waterfall before and I did a quick Google search of it. It looks as lovely in winter as it is other times of the year. But I can’t deny that the snow does make it seem truly magical!
It’s impressive to see such amazing scenery covered in snow. Gullfoss Waterfalls do look impressive, no matter they were used as background scene in a top Hollywood movie. Iceland never stops to surprise me, I really have to visit sometimes soon.
The waterfall looks spectacular! I would like to visit this place in the evening. I’m sure that there are so many tourists during the day.
I love seeing waterfalls in the winter. The ice creates shapes and textures that fascinate the imagination. The falls certainly look like they should be featured in a science fiction film with the water slipping into the earth from all sides. Someday we’ll have to get to Iceland.
Wow, the waterfall looks spectacular! Gullfoss seems like a great spot for a day trip from Iceland capital. Would love to visit the beautiful waterfall of Iceland,it would be a dream come true.
Thanks for the detailed blog post, Myself and my wife are planning our first visit to Iceland next year so reading up on a lot of reviews and places to see. Can’t wait to see and experience it all.
The weaterfalls looks amazing! I love seeing waterfalls in the chill of winter. It’s such a different way to experience nature. I’d love to see these photos replicated in summer time.
The waterfalls seem beautiful. Such a huge waterfall in the snow covered scapes of Iceland is out of imagination. Good that it near to the capital I would like to visit it some day.
I’ve read so much about Iceland recently, it’s like the universe is trying to tell me something! Haha love the waterfall. I’m a sucker for beautiful scenery and this looks tonhave it all!
This place looks like a photographer’s delight. And it’s so cool that parking, toilets and viewing of Gullfoss are all free of charge. Winters do make me a bit lazy and I guess the car park at each viewing platform would be ideal for someone like me 🙂
Wow this place looks out of this world!!! I plan to visit Iceland sometime soon (hopefully) so this is really helpful. I’ll pin it for the future 🙂