Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(see p.206). Immediately after the bridge, the unsealed Route 635 turns north up
along
Langadalsströnd
, Ísafjarðardjúp's southeastern shore, and it's worth taking the
bumpy thirty-minute drive from the junction (there's no public transport) past lush
green fields and a few farms scattered up the coast to reach
Kaldalón glacial lagoon
.
This is a rare opportunity to see an easily accessible glacial lagoon - most others are
hidden in the Interior and hard to reach. As you approach, you'll easily spot the
lagoon: it is actually a U-shaped inlet from Ísafjarðardjúp, caught between the cliffs of
Snæfjallaströnd to the west and Langadalsströnd to the east. Look out for the unusual-
looking trail of brown, muddy meltwater that has come down from the Drangajökull
glacier as it merges into the saltwater of the bay.
Drangajökull
From the parking area by the low hills at the head of the lagoon it's possible to walk up
to the snout of the
Drangajökull glacier
along a
trail
, marked by cairns, in roughly
ninety minutes; from the car park head east, following the low hills, to the track
leading along the eastern side of the valley up to the glacier. Keep to the eastern side of
the cairns and you'll find the going easier, although there are still boulders, stones and
streams to negotiate. Note that you shouldn't underestimate the time it'll take to walk
to the glacier - the clear air makes the ice appear much closer than it actually is. If you
spot the unmarked path leading up the western edge of the snout, past Drangajökull's
highest point,
Jökulbunga
(925m), before descending into Furufjörður on the eastern
shore of Hornstrandir, don't be tempted to follow it - it's strictly for experienced
mountaineers only.
4
Unaðsdalur
From Kaldalón, Route 635 crosses the glacial river, Mórillá, before continuing
northwest for another fifteen minutes' drive to the farming settlement of
UNAÐSDALUR
, where there's a small church right on the shoreline. From here the
mountainous coastline of Snæfjallaströnd stretches to the northwest - although it's
hard to imagine, this entire region was once inhabited as far as the cliffs at
Bjarnarnúpur, which look across to Bolungarvík on the opposite side of the bay.
Historically, Unaðsdalur is perhaps best known for the
massacre
of a boatload of
Spaniards who were shipwrecked here in 1614 and then beaten to death by farmers
when they tried to leave on a “borrowed” vessel the following year. In 1995 the last
locals, perhaps unsurprisingly, upped sticks and left this remote, chilly coast - not
even in the warmest summer does the snow melt from the mountains here -
abandoning Snæfjallaströnd to the elements alone.
Hornstrandir
Once you've seen the remote snow-covered hills and cliffs of the Snæfjallaströnd
coastline, you'll have an idea of what lies immediately north. A claw-shaped
peninsula of land bordered by the Jökulfirðir fjords to the south and the Greenland
Sea to the north, and attached to the rest of the West Fjords by a narrow neck of
land just 6km wide,
Hornstrandir
represents Iceland's very last corner of inhospitable
terrain, and its coastline is the most magnificent in the country. The rugged cliffs,
precipitous mountainsides and sandy bays backed by meadows of wildflowers make
up this official nature reserve on the very edge of the Arctic Circle, and hiking here is
an exhilarating experience; it's quite common to walk for an entire day without
seeing another person. The highlight of any trip to Hornstrandir is a visit to the
majestic
Hornbjarg cliff
(533m) at the eastern end of Hornvík bay and the highest
