We got an early start on Day 4 as well, since it was an hour’s drive to the beautiful (and unpronounceable) Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, and we wanted to be able to hike before it got busy. It turns out that was a very good idea, as there was fairly limited parking at the trailhead. There’s a trail that leads up along the right side of the canyon (if you’re looking into it) that offers incredible views from the top of the canyon walls and ends at a little viewing platform that lets you look into the canyon from the opposite end and lets you see the waterfall that feeds the river winding through the canyon. After hiking back down, we found a little path that led down to the water (there were also stairs cut into the hill, but we’re smart enough that we didn’t see them). The water was VERY cold, but crystal clear, and if you felt like risking wet shoes, you could hike into the canyon along the river for a bit too.
View from inside the canyon
View from the river looking into the canyon
We then drove about another hour until we got to the Skaftafell visitors center. We made sure to eat a good lunch, and then set off on another hike that would end up taking most of the afternoon. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get to the viewpoint that you can first see Svartifoss (Black Falls) from. The pictures from a distance are stunning, as it really seems to be carved out of the surrounding mountains, but it’s well worth the relatively steep trek down to the bottom. The waterfall comes out of the same black basalt columns that Vik is famous for, and it’s interesting here because you can see them both vertically and horizontally.
Our first glimpse of Svartifoss
Svartifoss and the surrounding basalt columns
If you wanted to, you could opt to head back to the visitor’s center after Svartifoss, but if you’ve got the time and option to do so, we would highly recommend continuing on to the Sjónarnípa viewpoint, which gives really incredible views of the Skaftafellsjökull glacier. It took probably around 3 hours or so to get to both Svartifoss and Sjónarípa, and was 4-4.5 miles round trip.
The path on the way to the glacial lookout was also stunning
Skaftafellsjökull glacier as it inches out of the mountains and toward the ocean
About 45 minutes from Skaftafell is Jökulsárlon Glacial Lagoon. Its crystal blue waters are dotted with icebergs that broke off from the larger glacier as they make their way along a short stretch of river into the ocean. If you hit it at the right time of day, it seems like the icebergs are glowing blue as well. There are several different spots where you can stand, so you can see several different of the (sometimes very large) icebergs as they drift through the lagoon.
The glacier lagoon, with the mountains that feed it in the background
We loved that the icebergs seemed to almost glow turquoise
After leaving the lagoon, we left for what should have been about a 4 hour drive to our campground in Seyðisfjörður. It’s not a ridiculous distance, but given the fjords that litter the east side of the country, the road winds in and out as the ocean does, and up and down the mountains. At one point, we turned a corner and saw a literal solid wall of fog coming in from the ocean. Eventually we came to a turn indicated by our GPS that had an open gate next to the road, marking one of the paths that is for most of the year closed to traffic. It was open and we didn’t have much of a choice, so we decided to keep going. Unfortunately, the wall of fog that we had hoped would be stopped by the mountains hadn’t been, and we ended up all but inching our way up and around a curving mountain road, unable to see more a few feet in front of us, praying that nobody was coming from the other direction (they weren’t, because nobody else was stupid enough to attempt the drive in that fog), and keeping close eye on the yellow poles that marked both the edge of the road and the edge of the mountain. I don’t think it would be a very bad drive in good weather, but if it’s foggy or raining and you have a choice to put it off for the day, I’d do so. When we finally made it to the Seyðisfjörður campground (a camping card site), we were both so stressed that we immediately went to sleep, and had no idea what we would wake up to the next morning.
Friendly warning – if you turn a corner and see a wall of fog, abort mission!
