Daily Daydream: Europe's Mightiest Waterfall

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

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Overlooked by tourists who stick to southern Iceland and the Golden Circle, Dettifoss waterfall is worth heading up north and off the beaten path. The waterfall is one of Europe’s mightiest (in terms of volume of water output). The less-litigious nature of Icelanders have kept this waterfall’s scenery spotless—there’s no pesky guardrails getting in the way of your perfect photo. Keep away from the edge though, as Dettifoss will sweep you over the end in a minute!

The powerful waterfall is fed by melting glacier water, and although Dettifoss is under 40 feet high, water flows over the edge at around 650 square feet every second.

Hike the train upstream to see another two “foss”, or waterfalls, Selfoss and Hafragilsfoss.

Where is it? In northern Iceland. Fly to Akureyri (check prices) and drive to Dettifoss.

Where to Stay? At Hotel Reynihlid, which is a bit of a drive from the falls, but offers beautiful lake views and, when in season, good northern lights viewing.

What Else Should I Know? Be careful—the path to the falls can get icy when it’s cold out.

Who’s it For? Photographers, hikers.

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(Photo: Shutterstock/Anders Stoustrup)

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