When driving along the south coast of the country, admirable sights that will fill your camera’s memory card pretty quickly are only minutes apart, making the region a popular day-trip destination. Numerous impressive waterfalls, steep mountains, glacial rivers, hot springs and historic tourist attractions are characteristic of the area, providing the traveller with endless activities and diverse hiking trails.
After passing through small towns and loading your car with some food and beverages, it would be ideal to make a lunch stopover next to Seljalandsfoss, a spectacular waterfall that drops 60 metres over a large cliff in the Eyjafjöll Mountains.
Seljalandsfoss has a distinctive feature, which makes it among the country’s most photographed waterfalls. It is possible to walk behind it without getting soaking wet, if careful that is, and capture unusual images from the other side. These shots will undoubtedly spruce up the photo album, which by now is probably filled with pictures of Iceland’s countless cascades. You don’t have to worry about falling in the stream, a marked footpath leads all the way.
After photographing Seljalandsfoss from all sides, it’s time to drive to the next interesting spot, Paradísarhellir (Paradise Cave), only minutes away. The cave is one of Iceland’s most noted ones, not due to its size (it’s only five metres long and three metres wide) but for being a refuge for the outlaw Hjalti Magnússon in the 16th century. You will need to climb eight metres up a rope to reach the cave’s entrance, so you’ll better not be scared of heights.