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Þjófafoss is in the river Þjórsá, to the east of Merkurhraun lava field. The name of the waterfall translates as "thieves' waterfall", as thieves used to be executed by drowning in its pool. The waterfall is one of the three main waterfalls in Þjórsá. The Þjórsá river forms the boundary between Rangárvallasýsla and Árnessýsla and is the longest river in Iceland.

Þjófafoss is to the south of Búrfell mountain, not far from the Búrfell Power Plant and somewhat lower down from Tröllkonuhlaup in Þjórsá. The flowrate in Þjófafoss is rather low during winter but greater during the summer. This is due to the power plants on the river, as a large proportion of the water is diverted past the falls. The river is dammed at Sultartangi, forming the Sultartangalón reservoir. The water is first channelled through Sultartangi Power Plant and then into the Bjarnarlón reservoir and through the Búrfell Power Plant. As a result, it is first and foremost when the Sultartangalón reservoir is full in late summer that the excess water can flow over Þjófafoss.

With the construction of the Búrfell Power Plant 2, water flow over Þjófafoss have decrease even more, both during summer and winter.

The Ægissíðufoss waterfall in Ytri-Rangá is a few kilometres further down the river from Hella. The waterfall is a well-known fishing location on the river and has a salmon ladder. The waterfall is magnificent all year round, as the flow is quite steady throughout the year given that Ytri-Rangá is a spring-fed river. Any changes to its flowrate can for the most part be attributed to spring thaws.

When thoughts turned to bridging the Ytri-Rangá river, Jón Þorláksson, the then Chief Civil Engineer and later Prime Minister, examined the option of building a bridge just above Ægissíðufoss. This construction did not materialise, and the bridge was ultimately built where the village of Hella stands today.

A popular hiking trail lies from Hella down to Ægissíðufoss along the Ytri-Rangá river and is much used by both locals and visitors.

At Hellar there are three caves from which the town gets its name. These caves are man-made, carved in sandstone, and one of them is the longest man-made cave in Iceland. It is not known exactly how old these caves are, but it is believed that they are possibly from before the actual settlement of Iceland and were made by the Popes, i.e. Irish monks who settled in this country before the time of the Vikings (about 900).

On the other hand, it can be said with full certainty that the caves are at least as old as the town name Hellar, as it is very unlikely to name this town if there were no caves in the area. The first written sources about the farm Hella in Landsveit are from the year 1332 and therefore the caves are at least 600 years old, although it is possible that they are even older.

Caves in caves are protected natural site.

The archaeology app takes you on a self-guided tour in the village of Hella. Hella does not have a very long history but there has been a farm, Gaddstaðir, at Hella for few decades. The first inhabitant to move to Hella which didn 't have the goal to be a farmer was Þorsteinn Björnsson. He moved in in 1927, he opened a store which he named Hella. From that moment that village started to develop and the name Hella grew to the village. The app will take you for an approximately 1 1/2 hour walk around the village where you will get to know a lot more. To download the "wapp" app search in app store or google play, it's free.

Ytri-Rangá flows past Hella. Its source is to the north of Mount Hekla, in Rangárbotnar at Landmannafréttur, where it surfaces in several places from under the lava fields. The river is 55 km in length and one of the richest salmon fishing rivers in Iceland. The river is fed by run-off and springs.

There are several waterfalls along the river, Fossabrekkur, Gutlfoss, Árbæjarfoss and Ægissíðufoss. Approximately 10 km below Hella, Þverá joins the river and is called Hólmsá until it runs into the sea.

There has been considerable fish farming in the river for many years, which means that the river is more often than not at the top of the list of Icelandic salmon fishing rivers and is extremely popular as such. The farming operations in the river are in the hands of the Ytri-Rangá Fishing Association.

Hella is the municipality's main population centre, with over 800 residents. The economy of Hella consists mainly of services to the agricultural sector. The town hosts a slaughterhouse for large livestock, a meat processing plant, chicken slaughterhouse and adjacent processing plant, veterinary centre, incubation station, automobile workshop, electrical workshop, woodworking shop and various other smaller agricultural service providers.

Hella also has a grocery store, restaurants, hotel and guesthouses, nursing and retirement homes, swimming pool, laundry, healthcare centre, glass workshop, fish processing and seafood store, electrical appliance and gift store, bank, post office, camping ground, pharmacy, tyre shop, gas station, sports facilities, primary and nursery schools, as well as various other services and public bodies. In addition, the town hall and service centre for the municipality are located in Hella.

Hella's history began in 1927, when a shop was opened at the location. It was later replaced by the co-operative society Þór, and as the co-op grew and prospered, Hella became the main trading centre in the western part of the Rangárvallasýsla region, extending across the farmlands Gaddstaðir, Helluvað and Nes at Rangárvellir.

The village grew considerably in the sixties when many of the people working on the development of power plants in the area built homes and settled there. Growth slowed down after that, but since the turn of the century, Hella has grown steadily, with new apartments being constructed every year.

One of the best-known equine sports facilities in Iceland is located in Hella: Gaddstaðaflatir, also known as Rangárbakkar. The facilities include competition pitches for riding sports as well as an indoor riding arena. Five national meets have been held there, in 1986, 1994, 2004, 2008 and 2014, and the sixth is planned in 2021.