Magnusarfoss

Magnusarfoss is a waterfall in the south of Iceland in Skaftafell/Vatnajökull National Park, along road 1.

Skaftafell National Park is definitely worth visiting. The basalt rock formations guarantees beautiful pictures of the four waterfalls in the national park. From the parking lot several paths leads to the famous Svartifoss. If you pay attention, you will come along the Hundafoss and the Magnusarfoss. A beautiful waterfall with a height of 10 meters.

Magnusarfoss lies along the track to the famous Svartifoss. At the Visitor centre in Skaftafell, which is open all year round, one can get information on how to get to Svartifoss waterfall. It is 1,5 kilometers from the Visitor centre, uphill and on the way to Svartifoss you come across the Hundafoss.

There is a viewpoint for the falls near the crest but not particularly impressive.  If you pay attention as you’re hiking uphill, you’ll suddenly hear water flowing, and if you look to your left, you might notice a rather well-worn detour trail that very quickly leads to a better view on the fall.  You do have to duck down under a few trees, but it’s well worth it.

The hike is easy, you don’t even notice that you are going upwards until you see the view from above. Hiking further you will get at Svartifoss. On your way back you can either return the same way or cross the river by Svartifoss and return back there.

There are several other waterfalls in Skaftafell. From the second parking: Djofafoss, Heygotufoss, Hundafoss, Magnusarfoss and Svartifoss.

 

Info Skaftafell

Skaftafell was a manor farm and a local assembly site during the Middle Ages until it was acquired by the Church. The estate subsequently became a possession of the Danish monarchy. The original farmhouse stood at the foot of the heath, at a site called Gömlutún (Old Hayfields), where ruins can still be seen.

As the course of the River Skeiðará moved closer, several fields slowly disappeared under layers of sand, and during the years 1830-50, the farm was relocated about 100 m up the hillside with the construction of three new farmhouses. Two of them are still in use although the third was abandoned in 1946.

By the middle of the twentieth century, farming methods in Iceland had changed. Even though three families shared the Skaftafell landholding, its cultivation was difficult and a change of land-use was inevitable. The weather conditions in Skaftafell are favourable and the land was considered ideal for forestry by the Iceland Forestry Service. Around 1957 the Service began discussions with the landowners on the purchase of land suitable for forestry. The purchase never took place, as the landowners ‘wanted to preserve their land and not change it into a foreign forest’.

In 1960 the suggestion was made to declare Skaftafell a national park. The arguments were, among other things, the spectacular natural beauty of the area, including the incomparable view of Iceland’s highest mountains. Other considerations were that the area boasted the biggest valley glacier, the most extensive sand flats and more fertile and varied vegetation than most other areas in the country.

In February 1961, the Nature Conservation Council (now the Environment Agency of Iceland) decided to recommend the establishment of a National Park in Skaftafell. The recommendation was approved by the Ministry of Education in May the same year. A national park in Skaftafell was officially established on 23 August 1968 by a government regulation.

In June 2008, Skaftafell National Park was integrated with the newly established Vatnajökull National Park.
Info from vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is