Svartifalls (Black falls) is located in Skaftafell Nature Reserve in the Vatnajökull National Park, southeast Iceland. It is framed by black color basalt column beautifully, hence the name. The trails from the parking lot is around 30 minutes uphill hike, it’s worth the “sweat”as when you get there, the view is breathtaking and it looks so different from the others. The trials have view points of the Nature reserve. Big thumbs up. Some Icelanders say Svartifalls inspired the design of the Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavik.

At the end of a long day in the rain, we considered skipping Svartifoss but the rain let up a bit and we decided to make the uphill trek. Hundafoss was a nice side benefit but the payoff was clearly well worth the hike. We’re waterfall fans and it’s probably not in my top 5 waterfalls on this trip but Skaftafell overall is still a great stop.

This waterfall is completely worth seeing because it is so picturesque and unique. It's not as big as some of the others which is fine. The hike to it is fun and doable for anyone in good health. I was, however, frustrated by the lack of good signage. It is very easy to start down the wrong path and visit the glacier instead of the waterfall by mistake. The correct path is NOT next to the visitor center but to the left a ways, make sure you are on the correct path.

The main falls are framed by black color basalt columns that make it stunning to view. The trails from the parking lot is around 30-40 minutes uphill hike. Very steep at the beginning and gets somewhat easier to the falls.