<- ->
This is one of the most impressive waterfalls of the country. It is situated in the 175 km long glacial river Skjalfandafljot just south of road no. 1. Both the river and the lava field it runs through have their sources far in the south.
According to the Saga of Christianity the formerly pagan chieftain Thorgeir threw the wooden images of the pagan gods into the waterfall after Christianity had been accepted in the Parliamentary Plains in the year 1000. The name of the waterfall, The Waterfall of the Gods, is derived from this event.
The chieftain Thorgeir played the most important role in the Christianisation of Iceland. After extended disputes and the danger of a bloody battle between the pagans and the Christians it was left up to him to decide which religion should become the religion of the state.(See Ljosavatn)
Godafoss is on nat.is North Iceland Saga Trail
Get an education when travel: