Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a track just before the causeway to Dyrhólaey, which was used for council meetings in
Saga times.
Reynisfjara
LANDMARK, BEACH
On the west side of
Reynisfjall
, the high ridge above Vík, Rte 215 leads 5km down to the
black-sand beach at Reynisfjara. The raw beach is backed by an incredible stack of
basalt
columns
that look like a magical church organ and there are outstanding views west to
Dyrhólaey. The surrounding cliffs are pocked with caves formed from twisted basalt, and
puffins bellyflop from here into the crashing sea during the summer. Immediately offshore
are the towering sea stacks
Reynisdrangur
.
You may recognise the scene from Bon Iver's 2011 music video,
Holocene,
practically
an ode to Iceland.
RESPECT
Tantalising as the glaciers may be, glinting just off the roadside, it is paramount to realise
that no one goes on them without experienced, local guidance. Crevasses can form sud-
denly and are often invisible (beneath snow), gasses can be emitted by volcanic activity,
and flooding (sometimes invisible from above) can destabilise the ice even further. With
the growing popularity of tourism in Iceland, the numbskull-ish behaviour of inexperien-
ced visitors occasionally makes the news (one man drove his family onto the glacier in a
rental car). Don't be one of them.
Tours
Arcanum
is based on Ytri-Sólheimar I farm 11km east of Skógar and offers many regional
adventure tours (treks, snowmobiling, ice climbing, glacier walking, super-Jeep tours etc),
as do all of the tour operators from Hvolsvöllur to Vík. Many also offer Reykjavík pick-
up.
Mountain Excursions
ADVENTURE TOUR
( 897 7737;
www.volcanohotel.is
)
