Here’s the deal — Iceland has a lot of waterfalls. Maybe too many waterfalls, if such a thing is even possible? Because if you come from anywhere else in the world, you’re trained to “ooo” and “ahhh” and take lots of pictures every time you encounter a waterfall. And with good reason; they are beautiful to look at and it’s not something you see every day. But here in Iceland, they are literally found every couple of miles, so it’s pretty easy to get waterfalled out during your travels.

But it just so happens that my two most favorite waterfalls are located a mere 25 minutes from each other:

The first one I encounter is Skogafoss. There also happens to be a campground here, and in retrospect I wish I’d organized my itinerary to stay the night, because it’s getting late and this is a lovely area. Imagine falling asleep to the sound of a roaring waterfall nearby…

Note the hiking path and staircases along the right side of Skogafoss:

The falls are loud and there’s lots of mist — depending on the wind, you can easily get wet here. I protect my camera as much as possible as I move in closer.

The grass along these hills is lush and green from the mist.

A view looking back at the campground as I climb up the right side of the waterfall:

So that is Skogafoss. Pretty impressive, right?

Next up is Seljalandsfoss, about 30km up the road. This is the waterfall I am most eager to see — it stands out from others in Iceland because you can walk behind it.

See the path winding around the back of the falls?

It’s really wet at this point — when the wind blows a certain way, I get pelted with mist. I keep my camera tucked away when not actively shooting, and even then I have to constantly wipe the lens between shots. But it’s worth the effort to photograph this.

And now I’ve made it to the other side of the falls:

There is a little store and food truck selling items in the parking lot. I buy some artistic postcards that I plan to frame someday (graphic illustrations of Iceland by a Reykjavik artist).

I need something hot to drink. But one look at the baked goods and I realize this could be my dinner…

So I get a slice of raspberry cheesecake and a hot chocolate. Of course.

And that’s my last stop for the night en route to Thingvellir National Park. I still have maybe two hours of driving, and then I’ll set up camp in the dark. But it was worth it to make the most of Iceland’s south coast. If you plan on visiting Iceland, this is the area I would most recommend seeing — there are just so many highlights to take in along this route.