Fantastic Waterfalls: Svartifoss (Iceland) vs. Giant's Causeway (Northern Ireland)

I fell in love with waterfalls in Iceland during September 2014. I don’t know why, but somehow I am crazy about waterfalls and I am trying to visit as many as I can. I think Iceland is one of the best countries in the world for waterfalls. Out of my personal Top 10 waterfalls-list, 4 are in Iceland (I noticed that I used the word "waterfall" four times in four sentences but that's just to prove how crazy I am about them...)

Svartifoss

The fantastic Svartifoss in Southern Iceland

In my Top 10 list Svartifoss takes a very good second spot just behind Iguazu - the mother of all waterfalls. Svartifoss is a small but incredibly atmospheric waterfall in Southern Iceland. You won't find it on most Top 10 lists in the Internet but I really love this place because it is so magical and unique. You really feel like you're in the middle of an age-old Nordic saga and you find yourself checking behind you for some Troll sneaking up on you. The name Svartifoss means “Black Falls”. The name makes sense as the most striking attraction of this waterfall is not the actual fall itself but the dark basalt columns that surround the waterfall. The columns have inspired the architects of the very special Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik, says Wikipedia.

Hallgrimmskirkja in Reykjavik looking a little spooky

Svartifoss is located in Skaftafell which is part of Vatnajökull National Park and can be reached in a relatively easy 1.5km hike, around 90mins return.

Approaching Svartifoss

Giant’s Causeway and Reynisdrangar

I think there is no other waterfall like Svartifoss in the whole world which is why it claims number two in my list. However, I know of two places where you can find the same kind of Basalt formations than those that add the atmospheric background to Svartifoss. One place is pretty much right around the corner of Svartifoss at the black Reynisdrangar Beach, close to the little town of Vik.

The black Reynisdrangar Beach

The below picture is taken right next to the opening in the cliff.

Basalt columns at Reynisdrangar Beach

Another, more famous place is Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. You can find about 40,000 of these basalt columns here.

Giant's Causeway. Image courtesy of 一元 马 licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

There are two stories how this place was created. While scientists say that the Basalt columns are the result of a volcanic eruption, some people claim that the causeway was built by an Irish giant so that he could fight his Scottish rival. Go choose your favourite version, I think the story with the giant sounds legit... :) Unfortunately, due to bad planning, we didn’t make it here during our Ireland trip in September 2016.

What do you think of these places? If you have found any other place with Basalt columns like this, please let me know!

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All images are my own work, except of the last image. All Rights Reserved.