A south-west inland river known as a strong char-and-trout venue with some salmon interest. Volcanic bedrock underlies this river. Iceland's salmon are managed conservatively under operator and national rules — quotas, size limits and catch-and-release are widely applied; check the river's rules before fishing.
Brúará is among the largest spring-fed rivers in Iceland, rising from sparkling springs beneath the Úthlíðarhraun lava field on the edge of the southern highlands, around four hundred and thirty metres up, and running some forty kilometres to merge with the glacial Hvítá. It follows the old boundary of Biskupstungur and Grímsnes, and it is famous above all for its colour — a luminous blue-green where the light catches the fine pale sediment over the clear spring flow, nowhere more so than at the falls of Brúarfoss. This is even-tempered water: lava-filtered, cold, clear and steady, immune to the spates and droughts that swing the rain- and ice-fed rivers around it. The bed is volcanic rock and pale gravel. Wading is over firm but uneven stone, and the great clarity that gives the river its name leaves nowhere for an angler to hide.
Wading: Uneven rock under exceptionally clear water
- Volcanic
- Partly confined
- Spring creek
- Pool riffle