Dynjandi

Dynjandi drops around a hundred metres down a stepped rock face at the head of a fjord in the Westfjords, spreading wider as it descends so that the whole thing reads as a fan from below. A path climbs from the car park past a series of smaller falls, each with its own name, before reaching the base of the main one, where you can walk right up into the spray. The setting is as much of the point as the water: an empty fjord head with no settlement in sight, and the mountain road to reach it crosses a high plateau that stays closed for much of the year.

What you actually see

• The main fall - the fan-shaped hundred metre cascade at the head of the fjord.
• The lower falls - a chain of six smaller waterfalls along the path up.
• The base - the point where the trail reaches the spray directly beneath the drop.
• The fjord view - the empty inlet and mountains seen looking back from the climb.

When to go

June to September, when road 60 over Dynjandisheidi is reliably open. The pass is closed or unsafe through much of winter and spring and the site is effectively unreachable then. Volume is highest in early summer with the snowmelt. There is a campsite at the bottom for anyone wanting evening light on the fall.

Honest expectations

It is a long way from anywhere; the Westfjords add days to an Iceland itinerary and stretches of the approach are gravel. The path to the base is steep with loose stone and takes about twenty minutes each way. Spray soaks lenses and clothing near the bottom. Facilities amount to toilets and a car park.

Nearby

The road continues north towards Isafjordur and south towards Patreksfjordur.