Seljalandsfoss, Gljufrabui, Skógafoss: The famous waterfalls of Iceland

The third day in Iceland was going to be partly devoted to waterfalls. I say only partly, because we would be spending most of the day hiking in the amazingly wild scenery of Þórsmörk (Thorsmork, or Thor's Garden in English); but of that later. Here we go on a mind-and-body-drenching safari of some of the famous waterfalls of Iceland.

You may ask why are these waterfalls so famous, given that there are so many spectacular waterfalls in Iceland? First of all, these waterfalls are also amazingly beautiful and unique, and they are very close to Reykjavik (you may even say that they are within spraying distance), which make them, along with Gullfoss, among the most visited waterfalls in Iceland. Moreover, they appear in many TV shows and in movies. If you are a fan of Indian Bollywood cinemas, you have surely seen these waterfalls in the movie "Dilwale", in which the actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol cavort around and under these waterfalls. They say that the Indian tourist influx to Iceland went exponentially up after that movie.

So there we were, rather early in the morning, at the parking lot for Seljalandsfoss waterfall. Seljalandsfoss is a very unique waterfall. The water falls directly from a plateau above. There is a cave under the waterfall, and you can walk right behind the waterfall. If the time is right, you can see the setting sun looking through the waterfall; what a lovely backdrop! And, if you are like Shah Rukh Khan, how can you resist the temptation of spreading you arms wide in the "Albatross" pose, while the orange sun lights up your freshly shampooed tresses? It so happened that we were there in the morning, so there was no setting sun, unfortunately, and we did not see any Sandeep and Radhika Patels (the aforementioned Indian tourists) spreading their arms in that iconic pose while a long line of other Indian tourists wait their turn to take the same photo. Worth going back again for? I wonder.

And here it is: the iconic red chiffon sari of Kajol, along with Shah Rukh Khan in his half-Albatross pose near Skogafoss, saving yet another damsel in distress, this time in Iceland. 

Right next to Seljalandsfoss, within walking distance, was Gljufrabui, another very unique waterfall. Gljufrabui is a waterfall inside a canyon, so you will need to walk into the canyon first, getting your foot slightly wet from the water of the falls as it flows out of the narrow canyon. Once you are inside, the space opens up into a small chamber, and you are directly under the waterfall as its falls down from the sky. Quite an amazing place. The cold spray of the waterfall, and the thrill of walking through water into the canyon, add to the experience. Its such a sense of achievement to get inside that canyon that you may even release your inner Shah Rukh Khan, and spread your Albatross wings, for a few moments. We are humans, after all.

The last waterfall of the day was Skógafoss, a very iconic waterfall of Iceland, since it shows up on many travel brochures; look up Lonely Planet, for example. There is a lot of water in Skógafoss almost all through the year, and the setting is perfect to show off the beauty of the falls. You can walk up the side of the falls to the top, and there are various places on the way where you can get up close and personal with the water. If you are like Kajol, you will possibly wear that red chiffon sari and let the windy cold Iceland weather blow the sari all around for that perfect photo shoot (refer to the same movie "Dilwale" above :-) ). There were a few tourists, but no one was daring enough to brave the cold of the Iceland summer in a red sari. That was a pity, really.

There will be many more waterfalls in our travels through Iceland, but these three waterfalls definitely were unique and worth the visit. If you are visiting Iceland, though, don't forget your red chiffon sari. The Albatross wings are optional.