Worth Seeing in Iceland (Part 2)

East of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano stretch the black beaches near the town of Vík. Further on you'll find glaciers, wonderful fjords and mountain trails.

The black beaches in Vík

The beaches in Vík are among the most attractive basalt beaches in the world. The area itself is calm and sparsely populated. About 300 inhabitants live in the area, which makes it feel wild and amazing. The town and the beach lie at the foot of a great glacier, Mýrdalsjökull, which in turn covers, with its frozen mantle, the volcano Katla.

Right by the sea there are enormous and monumental cliffs. Birds called the Atlantic puffin live in them. They have their nests here. You can see these birds gliding over the rocks.

The Laufskálar cairns

In the place of the stones there once stood a farm known as Laufskálar. It was, however, destroyed in 894 by the first eruption of the volcano Katla. Today every traveller sets up a little pile of stones in the place of the farm, for luck.

Skaftafell National Park

The park's grounds are situated in areas of high volcanic activity. Over 80% of the park's surface is taken up by the Vatnajökull glacier. Icelanders offer expeditions onto the glacier. On your own you can head to the glacier's forefields (jökulhlaup). Numerous watercourses and waterfalls add charm to the area.

Driving towards the town of Höfn, you'll come across pieces of a bridge. It was destroyed by a flood in 1996, which arose as a result of the eruption of the volcano Grímsvötn. A monument was made from the twisted bundles of the destroyed bridge.

The glacial lagoon – Jökulsárlón

The meltwaters from the Vatnajökull glacier formed a lake in the southern part of Iceland called Jökulsárlón. Today it lies about 1.5 km from the ocean shore and covers an area of 18 km². The meltwaters constantly enlarge and deepen the lake, which now reaches a depth of about 250 metres.

For a small fee you can go on a cruise around the lake by amphibious vehicle or motorboat. The glacial lagoon has appeared in several Hollywood films, such as: A View to a Kill, Die Another Day, Tomb Raider and Batman Begins. Heading to the shore, you can see how enormous pieces of ice fall into the ocean. Some of them get washed onto the shore by the waves.

Next we head towards Höfn, where beyond the town breathtaking views stretch out. Very few cars drive here and we have a chance to see seals swimming in the ocean or even reindeer. Further on we head towards the Berufjörður fjord.

Road number 1 runs around the 20 km long fjord. The only town on this fjord is Djúpivogur. At the end of the fjord there is route number 939, which I recommend taking. The route leads through the mountains and shortens the travel time to Egilsstaðir. The climbs can be tough, and after rain it can be really difficult to drive there.

Driving this route, you can come across Icelanders who tear along in ordinary cars without 4x4 drive. Driving right up to the top of the fjord is a real joy. In bad weather we can drive into the clouds and travel in very thick fog. All the same, it's worth a try. Iceland will appeal even to warmth-loving clueless types ;)