Iceland’s Waterfall of Thieves Þjófafoss Will Steal Your Breath

Nature’s pool of true-blue cyan. To see it in person is a privilege. Þjófafoss, or Thjofafoss in English, is the epitome of ethereal beauty. Only via a 4×4 jeep is ingress to this site possible. Once on foot, I totter along the gravel-laden road to get to the vantage point. Þjófafoss is an extension of the 230-km Þjórsá, Iceland’s longest river. The river itself runs from the glacier Hofsjökull, winding through gorges along its way. It now powers a hydroelectric station — as such the gush at Þjófafoss will never again be as mighty as it once was.

And if the abyss is blue, then the silence is golden. Nary a person from another tour group is in sight, as if this place is sequestered from the world.  Only the echoes of water crashing are heard. Up northwards Búrfell the mountain overlooks the waterfall like a sentinel.

However transcendent the view is, its history is sinister. Thieves were drowned in the waterfall as punishment.