Goðafoss waterfall, Iceland

© Anton Petrus/Getty Image

Goðafoss waterfall, Iceland

Goðafoss is one of hundreds of amazing waterfalls in Iceland. And although it isn’t the island's highest waterfall – that would be Morsarfoss at 240 metres – or most powerful (the thundering Dettifoss), Goðafoss has its own story to tell.

An Icelandic legend claims that in 1000 CE, a well-respected pagan priest and chieftain named Thorgeir Thorkelsson was tasked with deciding if Iceland was to become a Christian nation or if it would continue to worship the ancient Nordic gods. The peace of the island was at stake, with fierce advocates on each side. Thorgeir decided in favour of Christianity, but with the warning that those who chose to continue to recognise the old gods would not be punished so long as they converted. This tale, likely created in the nineteenth century, says that after Thorgeir converted to Christianity he returned to his home near Goðafoss and threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall, which is said to have angered the old gods so much that they split the waterfall in two.