“Dynjandi flares wider as it falls, like a bridal veil, and the trail to it climbs past six separate smaller waterfalls before you reach the thunderous main cascade.”
About Dynjandi
Dynjandi has long been the natural showpiece of the sparsely populated Westfjords, a region so cut off by mountains and winding roads that it sees a fraction of Iceland's visitors. The falls and their surroundings were protected as a natural monument, preserving the whole staircase of cascades that leads up to the main drop.
Dynjandi, sometimes called the 'Jewel of the Westfjords', is the largest and most spectacular waterfall in that remote corner of Iceland. It fans out as it falls roughly a hundred metres down a stepped cliff, narrow at the top and spreading wide toward the bottom like a bridal veil or a trapezoid of white water, with a series of smaller falls strung out below it.
Dynjandi, sometimes called the 'Jewel of the Westfjords', is the largest and most spectacular waterfall in that remote corner of Iceland.
A Staircase of Falls
The name means 'the thunderous one', and the sound carries across the fjord. A path climbs alongside six separate smaller waterfalls, each with its own name, before reaching the broad main cascade at the top. The way the water widens as it descends, controlled by the shape of the underlying rock steps, gives Dynjandi its distinctive flared silhouette that sets it apart from Iceland's many vertical falls.
The Experience
From the car park you climb a clear path that passes each of the lower falls in turn, the noise building as you go, until the wide main cascade fills the cliff above you. Spray drifts across the trail, the fjord opens out behind, and the scale only becomes clear when you stand at the base and look up at the spreading sheet of water.
Why It Matters
Dynjandi is the crown of the Westfjords, the single sight that justifies the long detour into Iceland's least-travelled region. As a protected natural monument it anchors tourism in an area otherwise defined by isolation, empty roads and dramatic, untouched coastline.
Dynjandi is the crown of the Westfjords, the single sight that justifies the long detour into Iceland's least-travelled region.
Why Visit
Make the detour for the most spectacular waterfall in the Westfjords, with a rewarding climb past six smaller falls to the broad main cascade. Allow an hour for the walk.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Walk the path past all six lower falls, each named, before the main cascade.
- 2
Check Westfjords road conditions; many routes are gravel and close in winter.
- 3
Allow extra driving time; the Westfjords are remote and slow to cross.
- 4
Bring a rain layer for the spray near the base of the falls.
