Hjalparfoss

Hjalparfoss is two streams dropping side by side into one pool where the Fossa joins the Thjorsa, with a wall of basalt columns behind them that are bent and fanned rather than straight - the rock cooled unevenly, and the twisting is the thing photographers come for. The name means the help falls: this was the first grazing and water reached by travellers coming south off the Sprengisandur route across the interior, and getting here meant the crossing was survived. It is a short walk from the car park with the pool at the bottom, and unlike most of the valley it is reachable on a normal road.

What you actually see

• Two falls into one pool - where the Fossa meets the Thjorsa.
• Bent basalt columns - fanned and twisted by uneven cooling.
• The help falls - first grazing for travellers off the interior crossing.
• Easy access - unlike the rough roads further up the valley.

When to go

May to September; road 32 is usually open longer than the valley's side roads. An hour.

Honest expectations

It is a short stop, twenty minutes for most people. Rocks by the pool are slick and the path down is uneven. The car park is small and fills with tour vans in the middle of the day. No facilities.

Nearby

Thjorsardalur runs inland from here; Haifoss and Gjain are up the valley.