Southwestern Iceland - The Rough Guide to Iceland - page 128

Just west, a dumpy, orange-topped lighthouse sits atop a grassy headland - mainland
Iceland's southernmost point. Below, the narrow cliff is pierced by a 115m arch , tall
enough for a sailboat to pass beneath. One of the volcanic stacks just offshore from
here is also hollow, the interior reached along a tiny passage from the open water, just
large enough for a rowboat.

ACCOMMODATION DYRHÓLAEY

Hótel Dyrhólaey 5km inland off the Ringroad
T 487 1333, E [e-mail]. Perched on a
high ridge facing south, so views from the forecourt down
over Dyrhólaey are fantastic, despite the hotel being some
way from the sea. Rooms are clean, though the decor

- floral curtains and angular wooden furniture - could do
with modernising and the dining room is institutional,
with tables and chairs arranged i in long rows. The friendly
staff are a huge bonus. 25,000kr

2

Reynishverfi
As the Ringroad continues east towards Vík, it has to climb over the back of Reynisjall ,
a ridge that divides the southwest's fertile farmland from the bleak expanses of sand
beyond. It also blocks the weather: it's not unknown for it to be snowing one side,
and bright and sunny on the other. Route 215 runs coastwards down the length of
Reynisfjall's western side, via the tiny hamlet of Garður, to Reynishverfi , a shingle
beach where the puffins bob offshore. It's a beautiful spot on a sunny day, perfect for
a picnic; there's black sand, a steep cliff faced in twisted basalt columns, and a large
cave, Hálsanefshellir , around to the left (take care, as it can get cut off at high tide). The
three stacks offshore are the Troll Rocks, better viewed from Vík - which is just around
the impassable headland. From the car park, don't miss the brilliant views westwards to
Dyrhólaey's arch.

Vík
Despite averaging the highest rainfall in Iceland, VÍK - known more fully as Vík-í-
Mýrdal - is a pleasant place of three hundred souls nestling on the toe of Reynisfjall's
steep eastern slopes, a last haven before taking on the deadening horizons of
Mýrdalssandur to the east, the desert laid down by Katla's overflows. The town is laid
out on either side of a 200m stretch of the Ringroad, with Víkurbraut - where most of
the town's services are located - heading south towards the sea.
Iceland's only coastal village without a harbour, Vík got going as a trading station in
the late nineteenth century and today serves a few farms and the tourist traffic, with the
Víkurprjón wool factory and outlet making a name for itself with some innovative
designs - it's the building next to the N1 fuel station on the Ringroad.

Brydebúð
Víkurbraut • Summer daily 11am-8pm • 500kr
Vík's older quarter is south of the highway along the 100m-long main street,
Víkurbraut - though the only sight as such is Brydebúð , the original nineteenth-
century general store. This was actually built in 1831 on the Westman Islands and
relocated here in 1895; among other things, it houses a small museum of photographs
showing village life through the years.

Reynisdrangar
Past Brydebúð, a road and walking track runs down to a black beach at Reynisfjall's
southern tip. Offshore here are three tall spires known as Reynisdrangar , the Troll
Rocks, said to be petrified trolls caught by the sun as they were trying to drag a
boat ashore. The headland above is a huge, stratified bird colony: lower down are
kittiwakes, with puffins nesting on the steep middle slopes, and fulmar occupying