Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Sample the delicious seafood treats netted by the local fishing fleet in the
restaurants of
Höfn
8
Take a tractor ride to
Ingólfshöfði
to check out puffins and dodge dive-
bombing skuas
Sights & Activities
If you're interested in discovering the forces of nature and the history of the area, pick up
the booklet
Klaustur trail
(Ikr800), which outlines a marked 20km walking trail that
circles the village and takes in many of its natural features (it can be divided into shorter
walks).
Kirkjugólf
ROCK FORMATION
The basalt columns of Kirkjugólf (Church Floor), smoothed down and cemented with
moss, were once mistaken for an old church floor rather than a work of nature, and it's
easy to see why. The honeycombed slab lies in a field about 400m northwest of the N1
petrol station: a path leads to it from beside the information board, or drive down Rte 203,
where there's another gate.
Systrafoss
WATERFALL
At the western end of the village, this lovely double waterfall tumbles down the cliffs and
a sign outlines three short walks in the pretty wooded area (Iceland's tallest trees grow
here!). The lake
Systravatn
, a pleasant saunter up the cliffs above the falls, was once a
bathing place for nuns. A marked 2.5km walking path leads from the lake to Kirkjugólf.
Systrastapi
ROCK FORMATION
Religious connections are particularly strong in this area. The prominent rock pillar Sys-
trastapi (Sisters' Pillar), near the line of cliffs about 1.5km west of town, marks the spot
where two nuns were reputedly executed and buried for sleeping with the devil and other
such no-nos.
Steingrímsson Memorial Chapel
CHURCH
